Too Good To Be True
by Samitballi
Summary: Dean is forced to seek help from Elita to save Ben & Lisa when their memory comes back; but it may just be Elita that needs saved when the Leviathan strike when their unprepared. Sequel to Touched By An Angel must read that first
1. Chapter 1

Summery: When the Leviathan killed Cas, the wall he put up in Ben and Lisa's memories shattered. Now they remember everything and the Leviathan are after them. Dean's forced to seek help from Elita to save them; but it may just be Elita that needs saved when the Leviathan strike when they are all unprepared.

**SPOILERS:** Will follow season 7 a little…

Author's Note: I've been holding out until I got a few good chapters written (because I like to be a few chapters ahead of updating) but I've finally gotten to where I can post. So here's the sequel to Touched By An Angel =) Enjoy!

**LINE-**

Dean's boots kicked up dirt as he walked along the beaten path. The Impala was parked a little ways back, hidden behind a few trees and underbrush. He was sure no one would see it. For God sake he was beginning to question if anyone would see him. There was literally nothing around him. It was old fields and trees for miles with the exception of a railroad track and an old beaten down tavern straight ahead. There were exactly two trucks parked outside and probably three people- max- inside.

"Quit talking," Dean complained. He was carrying Elita bridal style because she was pretending to have passed out. But with her head on his shoulder, her whispers would go unheard. "Your breath is tickling me neck."

Elita chuckled darkly and blew lightly on his skin. He jerked his head to the side and glared at her as she laughed. But they quieted down as they came up on the tavern. Dean opened the door and rushed in.

"Help me! My wife passed out and- and I don't know what to do! Someone call 911 or something!" Dean begged in convincing hysterics. Everyone in the bar rushed to his aid. He was absolutely correct about there being two people inside. He laid Elita on an empty pool table while the bartender quickly called 911.

"We're way out here. It's going to take them a while to get here." he told Dean as he rushed out from behind the bar and to where Dean was. Elita was lying motionlessly on the table, looking even paler under the florescent lights.

"She just fell over and hasn't woken up since. I don't know what happened to her!" Dean cried, selling it as best he could. He looked at the person standing across the pool table and spotted the man he needed to take care of. William Rogers. Underneath that well adjusted businessman, was a bloodthirsty vampire.

Dean watched carefully as William leaned in closer to Elita. Dean's hands balled into fists even though he was sure William wouldn't make a move in front of other people. William breathed in discretely, inhaling the smell and wanting a taste of Elita's fine blood. Dean was on alert, watching the vamp as closely as he could. Even though she was bait, Elita was not getting hurt on this hunt.

"Do you have blankets or anything in the back that we can use to keep her warm until the ambulance arrives?" William asked- no doubt trying to find some alone time with Elita. The barkeep nodded and ran off to the back to look for blankets. William was staring at Elita with such a look on his face…it was all Dean could do not to reach for his knife and end it instantly. "Where's your car?" he asked, looking up at Dean.

"Down the road a ways. I had to carry her here." Dean said. This was their opportunity. They had a plan and- for once- it was actually working out. Dean shuffled away. "All of our identification is in there!" Dean yelped, holding his head in his hands. "The doctors are going to need that right?"

"Yeah they will," William replied, feigning sympathy. "I'll stay here with your wife and make sure she's okay. Quickly run back to your car- but be fast!" William was surprisingly convincing at playing the Good Samaritan.

Dean nodded, looking down at Elita. God she looked utterly bored sitting there pretending to be dead. He could've swept her into his arms and kissed her hard just because she was so good at this. Instead, he kissed her forehead and told her he'd be right back. Then he rushed out the front door. But only to go around to the back and peek through a dusty window. He could see William lean over Elita and stroke the vein in her left arm. It was one of the creepiest things Dean had ever seen but he held his ground, weighting for the opportune moment. He saw the barkeep come back with blankets to lay on Elita.

The barkeep and William exchanged words- probably about where he had gone. But then they smiled at each other real mischievously and a shiver danced up Dean's spine. The barkeep smiled, revealing a whole set of disgusting vampire teeth. Dean rushed towards the backdoor with his machete in hand.

As William went in for the first bite, Elita's eyes flew open and she stuck a needle right in William's arm. She forced the pump down, dosing him with dead man's blood. William hurtled backwards at the lethal injection and Elita turned towards the barkeep just as Dean's knife sliced through his neck. Without even thinking twice, Dean tossed Elita the knife and she hopped off the pool table, swinging the weapon at William. His head went one way and his body another.

"That was _almost_ how we planned." Dean mumbled as he went to stand next to her. She bent down and wiped the blade off on William's jacket. "Better than some plans."

"Nearly got me killed but hey, when doesn't that happen?" Elita retorted, handing Dean his machete. They started for the front door again but Elita paused. "You think he really called 911? It would be pretty stupid of him if he'd been apart of it the whole time."

Dean thought a second. "Well I don't really want to hang around to find out. Get to marching, Ginger." Dean teased, shoving Elita forward. She laughed at the nickname but punched him in the gut anyway.

The two of them had been hunting together on and off for a few months. Things weren't too serious, but there was an unspoken love between them. They placed their lives in each other's very capable hands. They trusted each other and they had a friendship. And despite Dean being so closed off and anti-chick-flick-moments, they were close. It had been about a year since she'd chosen Dean and started hunting again. Of course they weren't celebrating anniversaries or anything but they both could feel something different in the air recently. Half of it was fear; because neither one of them had ever experienced a romance that had lasted so long without many snags along the way. But part of the feelings was happiness. They were happy together. That's all that Elita and Dean wanted for each other. And who would've thought they'd find that in each other.

When they got back to the Impala, Dean scooted into the driver's seat while Elita slammed the passenger door behind her as she climbed in. As soon as the engine roared to life, Metallica kicked in and Elita turned it up. Dean loved that about her.

"I used to fall asleep to this song all the time when I was a kid." Elita mumbled as she tapped her hands against her knees in time with the beat. Dean looked over at her questioningly. "On long car trips my mom would put this song on and that meant it was time for me to shut up and lay down."

Dean chuckled. "Enter Sandman isn't exactly the ideal lullaby." he commented and she agreed with laughter. "The worst part about long car trips when I was a kid was Sammy. He would get bored literally in two minutes. He'd whine the whole time about having to pee or being bored. It drove me and Dad insane."

"I can absolutely see Sam being like that." Elita chuckled. "I used to sit in the back of the Roadrunner and line my arm men up on the seat and whichever ones fell off on sharp turns were dead. Then I decapitated the rest."

Dean busted with laughter. "That would be so concerning to normal people." he joked. "Sammy and I used to count raindrops on the windows when it rained."

"Who didn't do that! You had to see who would win the race." Elita exclaimed and smiled widely at him. "Yeah," she murmured more quietly, scooting down in the seat to rest her head against the back. "It wasn't _all_ that bad growing up the way we did."

"That's what I try to tell Sam. As long as you look at the brighter side, our childhoods weren't exactly hell." Dean replied.

"Exactly. If you dwell on the shitty moments, then soon enough those are the only moments you're going to remember." Elita said. Dean asked what her best memories were then and she thought for a long minute then laughed. "It's a tie. Either the time I kicked the shit out of a bully five years my senior in school for picking on a nerd. Or maybe the time I threw a bunch of army men in Bobby's fireplace so their ghosts could find peace in the afterlife- that is, after they rolled off the backseat of the Roadrunner or got decapitated."

Dean was laughing really hard as Elita recounted some of her better childhood moments. They shared their smiles and she asked what some of his were. "Bobby took us to a pet shop once. It was a terrible idea because Sammy wanted every animal he saw and we practically had to carry him out. But it was still really fun getting to hold the little animals then go for ice cream afterwards." Dean recounted. "I remember a little over a year after Dad started hunting; he was running around a motel room trying to get Sammy and me in the car so we could leave before he had to pay for another night. He was in such a hurry that he actually sat Sam on a hot stove burner when he ran to get his keys from the bedroom."

"Was Sam okay?" Elita questioned worriedly.

"He was fine but his pants were pretty singed and there were bits of plastic diaper stuck to them forever." Dean said with a chuckle. "That was the first time I laughed since…" Dean's sentence trailed off. "I guess I went into a shell after Mom. That was the first time I really laughed since then."

"You were getting better?" Elita asked sweetly, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Yeah, slowly. It helped when Sam started walking and talking cause then I had something to focus on. If I had to keep Sam out of trouble- which he was always getting into- then Dad wouldn't notice how down I was. Then slowly I started feeling better." Dean told her. He smiled lightly at her and she reached over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thanks for telling me that." she whispered as she kissed him. He just smiled back at her. "I'm gonna rest a bit. Wake me when it's my turn to drive." she said, lying with her head in his lap. He hit the button so Enter Sandman played again for her and she chuckled, tucking her head in against his chest. She fell asleep quickly with Dean there.

ŠŠŠ

"What took you guys so long?" Sam asked as he opened the door for Dean and Elita. They were staying in a backwoods cabin in Duluth, MN. It was essentially their safe house. Sam and Dean used to most often (since Elita had her apartment still) as a place to hangout between cases if they couldn't get back to Bobby's. Sam was waiting there for Elita and Dean to finish off the vampires nearby.

"Getting antsy sitting alone, Sammy?" Elita teased as she removed her coat and boots and fell to the bed. Sleeping in the Impala had formed a permanent creek in her neck.

"I'm bored," Sam replied, grabbing a beer. "I think I found a new case."

"You are _such_ a nerd!" Dean moaned as he too removed his jacket and fell on the opposite bed. He curled over on his side and closed his eyes. He drove most of the way himself before she finally coned him into switching with her. He put up a fight but as soon as his head hit the leather backseat he passed out. He snored the rest of the drive.

"What do you have?" Elita asked, sitting up and scooting over on the bed so Sam could sit next to her. He grabbed his papers and sat down next to her, handing over all the research he'd done while they were gone.

"Durand, Wisconsin. The town only has a couple thousand in it- however they are still managing to lose a dozen or so every few years. Once someone in that town goes missing, they just don't return." Sam told her.

"That could be any number of things. My first thought is a god." Elita replied, flipping through the missing person reports and whatnot Sam printed out.

"Mine too. Whatever it is, it has roots in this town." He reached around her to nudge Dean's leg. Dean moaned and rolled over, growling at Sam. "You coming with us?"

Elita chuckled as she started packing up her things. She knew how Sam could get when he had a case in his hands. God forbid they get some sleep and drive down tomorrow. Nope Sam would insist they go it tonight. Just as long as he knew he'd have to be the one to drive because Dean wasn't going to make it.

"Dude, take a breather. We just took out a few vampires. Our daily good deed has been done. I wanna sleep." Dean mumbled into the bed as he fought against passing out again. But Sam shook him again, tossing his jacket on him.

"I'll drive," was all Sam said and within the hour they had the cars packed up and were ready to hit the road. They practically shoved Dean in the Impala before Sam climbed in and drove off. Elita stopped at a restaurant before following in her Roadrunner. She was starving and needed some kind of sustenance if she was going to stay awake another three and a half hours.

Elita put in her order and pulled out her cell phone. She had a few missed calls and text messages but she knew they were from Sam. He called a lot when he wasn't with her- in fact he called her more often then Dean. But that's just how Sam was. He was sweet and looked after her; and not just because Bobby would kill him if he didn't.

After Elita ate and got back to her car, she popped the trunk and checked her bags. She'd need fake ID's and a convincing detective get-up if they were going to work a missing person's case. She didn't have much in the way of dressy things or hell, even nice things. Mostly jeans, button-ups, and boots. She had sneakers but that was it. She'd left the only pair of heels she owned in Minnesota and she wasn't driving all the way home to come all the way back just for a pair of heels. So she made a mental note to stop off at a mall or something when the sun came back up. But until then, she had to make due with plain black slacks, a deep purple long sleeve shirt and a black blazer. She also needed to re-laminate her badge since the edges were curling.

She heaved a sigh as she slammed the trunk shut. Hunting with the boys was becoming more and more exhausting. But a treat nonetheless. She enjoyed watching the two of them bicker like an old married couple yet still get the job done the right way. She had to admit, the boys kicked serious ass. In the years she'd known them she always assumed they were good hunters- how else would they manage to stay live this long? But she never knew just how good they were until she saw them hunt first hand. And by God, the Winchester's were a force to be reckoned with. Anyone to under estimate them would quickly regret it.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean and Sam got to Durand first and checked into a motel. They were just starting to unpack when Elita came in with a grocery bag in one hand and her clothing pack over her shoulder. She looked truly exhausted but at the same time, it didn't really show. It was there in the slight slump of her shoulders and the redness of her eyes. But she carried herself as if she'd just gotten a full twelve hours of peaceful sleep.

"I need to go redo some of my badges. Detective Alannah Myles is getting rusty." she said with a chuckle as she dumped her bag on the bed and the grocery bag in Dean's lap. She flashed a big smile as she grabbed her keys again and headed right out. Sam watched as Dean opened the bag and withdrew a warm apple pie and a six pack of beer.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam mumbled and his brother looked up at him. "Marry that girl." Sam demanded but Dean just smirked at him. Dean cracked open the pie and searched for a fork while Sam set up his laptop.

"So the last person to go missing was Chase Everdeen. He left his job at 8:30 two nights ago and his neighbors haven't seen him since." Sam said as he opened his laptop and sat down. "He also fit's the general profile of victims. All men in their early thirties. Every victim also lives alone and has reasonably stable jobs."

"So that means we don't have anything to worry about." Dean joked bitterly as he happily ate his pie. Sam scowled at him. "So we start with him. Check out his place, talk to his neighbors. You do know this could just be a serial killer, right?"

"Of course I know that, Dean. It just seems like something for us to handle." Sam replied and Dean shrugged, leaning against the headboard. He'd work the case and keep busy but after this one he was taking a break. Hitting the road and spending a weekend in a motel in East Jesus Nowhere with Elita relieving stress. Sammy could do what he wanted, but Dean was taking a break after this one. And Elita could use a break as well.

There'd been a lot on her plate lately. Jesse called her a few weeks ago, drunk and rambling on about how much he missed her. Sam watched helplessly as it tore a new hole in her heart. Not to mention all the hunting she'd been doing. The girl hadn't sat still in a long while. Every few weeks Bobby would call her to the house and make her sit around for a while just relaxing before he'd set her free again. She didn't like sitting around though. Idle hands and all.

When she was done re-laminating her badges and gotten herself a new pair of heels, she pulled out her cell phone to call Dean. She was standing across the street from a disgusting looking dinner with a sign out front advertising "the world's best cup of coffee" proudly. She was too hungry to even care about the quality of the joint.

"Dean," she said into the phone when he answered. "Grab Sam and head out to the victims place. I'm going to ask around town a bit."

"Why do I have to do it-" Dean whined but she was already hanging up on him. She slid the phone into her back pocket and entered the dinner. She found a booth halfway back and sat with her back facing the wall. That was a habit she had. If she couldn't see the whole place, she wasn't comfortable. She noticed Bobby did that as well sometimes.

"What can I get you?" her waiter asked as he approached her table. She looked up and smiled. Well he certainly was good enough looking with his black hair and dark eyes. He had clear Hispanic heritage but no accent and his smile was large and inviting. _I'll enjoy this hunt,_ Elita thought to herself.

She squinted to see his name tag. "What's good, Mark?" she asked, still smiling up at him. He flashed his toothy grin again and she admired the gap between his two front teeth. _How adorable is that?_

"Nothing," he said then laughed. "We've got burgers though and some pretty kick-ass fries."

She agreed and he jotted it down, excusing himself to put it in with the chef. While she waited, Elita pulled out her newly laminated badges and shuffled through them to find the most appropriate one to use. As she was flipping through them, her US Marshal ID slipped to the floor. As she went to grab it, another hand picked it up. She looked up to see Mark standing next to her, holding her ID badge.

"So you're a US Marshal?" he asked. She quickly slipped the other badges into her pocket and smiled quickly at him, snatching the badge back from him. "You should've said something. Feds get a discount." he said, winking at her and walking away.

She smiled as he walked away but sighed as soon as he was out of sight. _Smooth_. Looks like she'd have to be a US Marshal now.

ŠŠŠ

"Just because you're a ginger hunter doesn't mean mistakes are excusable." Dean chastised but he was smiling. Elita slapped him upside the head.

"How long have you been waiting to call me that?" she asked but didn't want an answer. Dean just smiled at her as they waited by the Impala for Sam to finish up at the county clerks office. So far they hadn't made very much progress in the case but they had only been in town two days so they weren't sweating it. However, Dean thought he'd found a pattern in the disappearances. But he didn't want to explain it twice so they were waiting for Sam.

Dean had his arm on the hood of the Impala, his body angled towards her as he played with a strand of her curly hair. She smiled, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye and he seized the moment and kissed her on the lips. But they pulled apart as the door to the county clerk's office opened.

"So the US Marshal's are working the disappearances." Dean said when Sam exited the building and walked up to the Impala. Elita glared at Dean as they got into the car- Dean behind the steering wheel. Sam ignored the two of them as he scooted into the passenger seat.

"Dean thinks he saw a pattern in the disappearances." Elita said as she rested her chin on her arms resting on the front seat. They headed towards the motel again so they could change and head out to another victims home.

"For one, the disappearances are speeding up. It used to be that a dozen people would go missing every six years. But recently it's been about every six months. Now, Chase went missing only six weeks after the twelfth victim." Dean told them. His phone rang in his pocket but when he pulled it out he didn't recognize the number so he silenced it.

"So we're thinking this _thing_- whatever it is- is boosting its feeding." Sam concluded. "What would do that?"

"I can think of at least eight different gods that would do that." Elita said. Sam turned to look at her over the back of the seat. "So we narrow it down one by one." she told him. He sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. She playfully ruffled his hair.

When they pulled up to the motel, Dean's phone was ringing again. He still didn't recognize the number but he waved Sam and Elita on so he could answer it privately. The two of them shared a meaningful glance but shrugged and headed inside, leaving Dean by the car. He stared at the number and extra second before answering the call.

"Hello?" Dean answered cautiously. The voice on the other end was the last thing he expected to hear.

"Dean!" the little boy's voice replied. "We need your help!"

"Ben?" Dean asked, too shocked to even think. He stared blankly ahead over the hood of the car.

"Yeah, Dean. Mom didn't want me to call you but we really need your help. Someone's been watching us. I see him every day after school and even at my baseball games. I'm really starting to worry, Dean." Ben said quickly but the trepidation was clear in his tone. "And Dean…" he mumbled then went silent for a second. "His eyes…"

Dean snapped into protection mode faster than he thought possible. "What did they look like? Black? White? Red?" Dean asked, rushed.

"Yellow," Ben replied. "Like…light."

Dean swallowed hard, running his free hand through his hair. _Leviathan_. As if they hadn't done enough damage, now they were going after Ben and Lisa. He wouldn't let that happened. "Where are you Ben?" Dean asked seriously.

"Joliet," Ben replied brokenly. "Come quick, Dean." Then they hung up.

Dean had to take a few shaky breaths before he could even think clearly. How did they even remember him? He made sure they would never remember his name or face. So how come Ben remembers him?

Dean grabbed his keys and rushed back to the motel room. How was he going to tell Sam and Elita that he was leaving? Elita wouldn't take it well- him leaving to save hi ex. But it was necessary. He couldn't let them get hurt because of him- that would be the worst fate he could think of. She'd just have to get over it.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Sam asked as Dean entered the room and started gathering his things.

"I have to go," Dean replied, throwing his things together in his bags. "I'm going to Joliet."

"Why? Dean slow down…" Elita requested, worry clear in her face. "Explain what's going on and maybe we can help you."

"No you can't help." he snapped. "…it's Ben and Lisa…" He was barely able to say the words. They came out as a whisper. He wanted to kill himself because of the dead look in Elita's eyes. She went completely still for the longest minute.

"How?" Sam murmured quietly.

"I don't know. But Ben's seen a Leviathan. So I'm going. Stay here and finish this up." he said, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

"No, Sam should go with you." Elita replied, shaking the anger and hurt from her body. "I'll finish this up. You two are stronger together. Go."

Dean didn't wait to question it. He rushed out the door without looking back. Sam started packing his things as quickly as he could, throwing balls of clothing into his bag. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked as he packed.

"I am anything but okay with this, Sam." she replied coolly. "But it is what it is. So go and make sure you're brother doesn't have a heart attack." Sam nodded, feeling so bad for her but unable to do anything for her. He went for the door but didn't get the whole way out before she said, "And Sam…be safe."

Sam left the motel after a gentle nod. Elita let herself fall to the bed, her head in her hands. "And things had been going so well…" she mumbled to herself. "If it's too good to be true…it always is."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I found that in Jobe 41 it describes the Leviathan and one of the things I noted was "eyes like the break of dawn" so…thus yellow eyes haha. That isn't something on the show yet so I thought I'd clarify.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: it's a bit later Monday night then I wanted to update but whatever lol I'm admittedly not very good at writing Lisa- because she's my least favorite character- but I'm giving it my best shot! Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Dean and Sam hauled ass to Joliet and got there in record time; but neither of them said a word more then for Dean to tell Sam about the phone call. Dean was festering and in a bad place so Sam didn't push him. They just sped to Ben and Lisa's house quietly with nothing but the roar of the engine to cut the silence. But nothing could cut the tension.<p>

Dean pulled the car over in front of the address Ben gave him and cut the engine, ripped the keys from the ignition and had his door open in record time. Sam followed a little bit slower but he caught up to his brother on the front porch when Dean froze with his finger hovering over the door. He knew he had to do it; he had to at least check. But going in there meant so much more then making sure they were okay. _They remembered. _Somehow, they remembered. He didn't know how much or if the details were fuzzy, but either way Ben and Lisa remembered who he was. And he hoped to God that would never happen.

Finally, he dropped his fist against the wood three times and stood back to wait with Sam. It wasn't but a second latter that the door creaked open and Lisa stood in the threshold. She went from pleasant to complete disbelief in a second as she stared at Dean and Sam, dumbfounded. No one said a word as Dean and Lisa stared at each other and Sam awkwardly watched. It was clear in the look on Lisa's face that she remembered _a lot_ but it was also clear she never thought she'd see him again. Not him. Not Dean.

"Hi Lisa," Dean mumbled like a moron. "You remember me?" He couldn't help but at least ask.

Lisa closed her mouth before she got to drooling all over the place. "Of course I remember, Dean. It's been over a year; that hardly enough time to forget _you_." she replied bitterly then looked to Sam. They exchanged tight greetings. "Did Ben call you?" she asked and they both nodded. "I'm sorry you came all this way but nothing is wrong."

"So someone _isn't_ following you guys or watching him play baseball?" Dean asked but Lisa didn't deny it. "Someone who also doesn't intimidate your son or scare the hell out of the both of you?" Again, Lisa didn't deny it; just looked away. "Look, I just want to make sure you two are safe then I'll leave and never come back."

"I've heard that before." she snapped angrily.

"Look," Sam piped up. "Let us in just so we can prove nothing is happening. Once we're sure you guys aren't in danger then we'll be on our way. I swear." he pleaded for Dean's sake. Then finally Lisa sighed and stepped aside to let them in. Upon first inspection, the house seemed nice- very suburbia. But looking around there was definitely something lacking from the atmosphere. Call it crazy, but it almost seemed cold in the big house. Like unhappiness was just in the air.

"Is Ben home?" Dean asked. Lisa hesitated but finally told Dean Ben was in his room. So Sam asked for a drink while Dean headed up to talk to Ben. He got to the doorway with Keep Out signs all over and hesitantly knocked.

"Not now, Mom, I'm in the middle of a game!" Ben shouted through the closed door. Dean just knocked again. "What!" he barked as he opened the door then froze when he saw Dean. "You actually came." he said in disbelief.

"Of course I came. You said you were in trouble." Dean replied. "Can I come in?" he asked and so Ben moved aside to make room for Dean in his room. It was much warmer in Ben's room with posters on the walls and pictures of him and friends on the shelves. There was a picture of him and Lisa on the nightstand, framed and on display where there once was a picture of the three of them.

"How the hell did you get mom to let you in?" Ben wondered aloud as he sat on the edge of his bed. Dean snagged the desk chair and sat across from Ben.

"Tell me what's going on." he said sternly. Ben sighed, looked away, then finally made eye contact.

"I don't know, Dean. But I'm really starting to freak out. This guy…or thing…or whatever it is, it's really starting to scare me. I think Mom and I are in trouble." Ben said in a rush.

"When did you first see him?" Dean asked.

"A few weeks ago. He was standing outside my school just…watching me. Then the next day he showed up at my baseball practice. And mom said she saw a guy standing outside her work. It wasn't until yesterday that I finally saw its eyes." Ben said then hesitated. "It was night and I was biking home from a friend's house when I saw him across the street. He was standing by the broken lamp post right outside. And when a car went by…the headlights flashed on his face and his eyes were…just yellow."

"And you haven't seen him since?"

"Are you kidding me? I haven't even left the house since then! But he'll probably be at school Monday and practice tomorrow." Ben replied. Dean stood up and went to Ben's window.

He pointed to a slightly bowed streetlamp. "He was there?" Dean asked and Ben looked to where Dean was pointing then nodded. "Alright, Sam and I are gonna look into it. In the meantime you gotta look after your mom. Do whatever you gotta do to keep the both of you inside till I tell you its safe again, okay?"

Ben just nodded. He followed Dean downstairs where Sam and Lisa were in the kitchen. Dean motioned for Sam to follow him out into the living room where they could talk privately. "Ben says the Leviathan has been showing up for a few weeks; at school, and baseball practice and even Lisa's work. Then get this; just last night, the thing shows up across the street. Car goes past and the headlights reveal yellow eyes."

"What do you think the Leviathan want with Ben and Lisa?" Sam asked worriedly.

"I don't know but whatever it is, it sure aint a good thing." Dean replied. They went back into the kitchen where Lisa and Ben were arguing under their breaths about talking to Dean. Clearly, they disagreed on whether or not the yellow eyed thing watching them was a threat.

"We're gonna go see what we can't dig up on what's going on. You two stay inside for a while, okay?" Dean said as they walked back into the room. Despite herself, Lisa agreed and they were soon on their way.

"How do you think they remember?" Sam asked as he followed Dean out to the Impala. They got in and slammed the doors, Dean revving the engine to life.

"I have no idea, but I'm dying to know how much they remember."

ŠŠŠ

The boys had Bobby tracking the Leviathan's recent activity while they went to Ben's school to talk to his teachers and classmates about the creep who's been watching him. But no one was talking. The teachers swore up and down that if anything of the sort were happening on the property, the dean would put a stop to it before it got out of hand. And the students were too busy caring about themselves to look up and notice anyone out of the ordinary. But one girl, Lila, said she noticed Ben was acting weird.

"He's usually a really nice guy." she said as she and the boys stood in the empty hallway talking. She cradled her books to her chest, looking around to make sure no one would hear, even if class was in session. "But he started acting funny a few weeks ago."

"How so?" Dean asked.

"I don't know…paranoid. Kept saying someone was watching him. He hasn't been racking in the wins for our baseball team lately either; and he's the star of the team." Lila said. She hesitated a minute as she bit her bottom lip then finally said, "I noticed him staring out into space a few times. Right out the window in class or just past the bus outside. Like someone or something was there but every time I looked where he was, there was nothing. He looked terrified too."

"That's a lot to notice." Sam said cheekily and the girl giggled, turning a bright shade of red. Sam smiled and said, "Thanks, Lila." and she ran off to class. Dean was too wrapped up in the information to catch Sam's lighthearted chat with Lila. They just left the school in a hurry.

"All the good that did." Dean grumbled as they got back in the Impala. "She just confirmed what Ben already told us."

"Yeah but now we know it's really true and that he wasn't making it up." Sam said and Dean glanced angrily at him. "Look I'm not saying I doubted him but I had my hopes. But now we know he really has been seeing something lately. Are we going to Lisa's work now?"

"You got a better idea?" Dean replied curtly but Sam shook his head. They drove in silence for a little. Finally Sam pulled out his phone and began going through his contacts. "Who you calling? Bobby's already working on the Leviathan, he'll let us know if he has anything."

"I'm not calling him," Sam said. "I'm calling Elita to check on the case. I don't like leaving a job half-assed and I want to make sure she's got in under control."

"I'm sure she's fine, Sammy. She's plenty capable of handling this case. Let her work." Dean replied quietly.

"If I don't talk to her she's just gonna fest. This whole thing isn't easy for her and she can't-" Sam was in the middle of saying before Dean stopped him.

"Just don't call her, Sam!" Dean shouted. "You need to leave her alone alright. She'll cope her own way. We gotta focus on helping Ben and Lisa right now."

"So what you're just going to drop Elita now? You're gonna start treating her like dirt, cause just a few days ago you were telling me how much she means to you." Sam retorted. Dean got a funny look on his face and Sam snorted. "Yeah I remember that, Dean. You were the drunk one not me."

"You didn't…" Dean asked, letting his sentence trail off.

"Tell her? No I didn't tell Elita that you're in love with her." Sam replied. Dean shot him a dirty look but didn't deny it. "You gotta do that yourself. But you're ruining your shot at that by coming here and doing this. At least call her. It would make a difference in whether or not you're welcomed back when this is all over."

Dean was silent for a while until they pulled up to the office building Lisa worked at. They made their way to the floor Lisa worked on and immediately started asking around. They got a lot of nothings until they came upon the office gossip and she spilled the beans all over the floor.

"She had some kind of stalker!" she gushed. "She doesn't talk much but oh boy is she an open book when it comes to those facial expressions. I can read her like Us Weekly! At first I thought it was a secret admirer or a boyfriend or crush or something. But they she started getting all worried looking and I knew right away it was nothing romantic at all. I can worry about my man, but never do I worry like she did. In fact she almost looked scared of him."

"Did you do anything about it?" Dean snapped and the woman laughed.

"Please, honey. What was I supposed to do? Besides, I only ever saw him that one time-"

"Wait you actually saw him?" Dean cut in.

"Well yeah. He was standing just outside the building right by the sign. He was watching her like a hawk- creeped even me out." she told them.

"And you didn't think to call the cops?" Dean barked but Sam stepped in before he could do any real damage.

"What exactly did he look like?" Sam asked and the woman gave a brief and poor description but it was enough for the boys to keep an eye out for a medium height, blond guy in a suit. They left the building as quick as they came.

As they were getting back into the car, Sam's phone began to ring. He checked the number then answered. "There's definitely been some Leviathan action in that region." Bobby said on the other line as Sam answered. "All kinds of warnings and signs. I'm gonna start watching out for these guys; they aint so subtle. We'll be able to keep better track of them if we know where they are."

"Thanks, Bobby. Keep up posted." Sam replied.

"How's your brother doing?" Bobby asked worriedly.

Sam looked over at Dean who was white-knuckling the steering wheel. He sighed. "Thanks for your help, Bobby." he said.

"No problem, kid. Watch out for your brother, would ya? Don't let him go making some dumb ass mistakes now." Bobby told Sam seriously and they both knew it was impossible yet imperative.

Sam and Bobby hung up and Sam retold Dean the news. Dean drove them back towards Ben and Lisa's house. "So basically we got nothing?" Dean said angrily.

"No, we have a slight description of who we're looking out for. And we know for sure it's a Leviathan. That's something, Dean, and it's only the first day. We'll get more tomorrow." Sam promised. Dean mumbled something unintelligible under his breath that Sam didn't hear not question. His brother was barely holding on by a thread and Sam was scared he'd soon drop to the ground if they didn't settle this right away.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I promised ya'll I would update Mondays and I've already broken my promise! =( lol I was away visiting family and their internet was down so I didn't get the chance to upload on Monday. HOWEVER, I'm updating today AND this upcoming Monday (2/20/12). So due to my lack of stick-to-itiveness, you get two chapters in a matter of days =) Take this as my sincere apology; Enjoy =) Take Care Then, Bye Bye Now

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><p>"How are you doing with the case?" Sam asked Elita as he paced the length of Lisa's kitchen while talking on the phone. He couldn't help but call and check in on Elita the next morning. He didn't like leaving something half-done and he'd be lying if he said he did t care about how much this whole thing was affecting her.<p>

"Just about wrapped up. I think I know who done it now I just gotta put an end to it." Elita replied easily. She'd stayed up all night working out the details of the case and was almost sure she knew what was going on. No surprises so far and she was counting her blessings for that. She wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders as of late.

"What do you think you'll do once you're done? Bobby's? Minnesota?" Sam asked. He leaned his head around the corner to make sure everyone was still where he left them.

"Maybe. Probably. I need some place safe to do all my worrying." she replied with a humorless chuckle. Sam sighed. "Thanks for checking in on me, Sammy."

"Yeah of course. You know I care about you. This Leviathan thing isn't exactly the best timing. But then again when is it a good time for someone to be in danger?"

"Never; but it continues to happen every day. Well I'm sure you have much better things to do so I'll let you go. Be safe, Sammy. And keep your brother safe too." Elita told him seriously.

"You too. I'll try to check in and keep Dean in line but I make no promises on either." he said and they shared a chuckle then hung up. He turned around just as Dean entered the kitchen. He quirked his eyebrow at Sam as Sam returned his phone to his pocket.

"Who you talking to?" Dean asked and Sam just shrugged.

"Elita," he said nonchalantly. Dean sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. "You can be a dick if you want, Dean, but I'm not." Sam snapped then walked out of the kitchen.

Dean let his forehead fall to the counter. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about all this. He needed to be out there finding the Leviathan. He needed to be keeping Ben and Lisa safe and he couldn't do that if he was too busy being preoccupied with everyone else's feelings. Elita would just have to wait- as would his feelings for Lisa.

"Everything okay?" Lisa asked from behind him as she entered the kitchen. He straightened up right away but she'd already seen the stress on his shoulders. "Is something wrong?"

"No, its nothing." Dean retorted but she was still skeptical. Thankfully she let it slide. "Nice life you got here." he said and Lisa snorted.

"We're barely getting by." she mumbled, getting herself a cup of coffee. When she looked back at Dean, all the memories came flooding back at her and she had to look away. It was too painful for either of them. It was just too much. "I have to work tomorrow," she said; changing the subject. "How does that work into being quarantined?"

"You aren't quarantined, Lisa, I'm just trying to keep you safe. And I guess you could go to work tomorrow as long as you don't mind Sam following."

Lisa sighed. "I guess I have no other option. You really think something's after us?"

Dean paused a second. "I'd like to say no…but I think this is a real threat, Lisa. And until I can prove otherwise I'm taking it seriously. I can't put you and Ben in danger…again." he mumbled, locking eyes with her. They stared at each other for a long moment, the memories clouding both of their eyes. All Dean could see was the pain he'd caused this woman. And all Lisa could see was the torn soul that she'd fallen so hard for then spent the last year trying to get over. It wasn't an easy exchange.

Dean's cell phone began to ring in his pocket and it snapped him back to reality. Lisa blinked and Dean looked away, going to answer his phone. "What do you have, Bobby?" he asked into his phone.

"A theory about how Lisa and Ben remember you." Bobby said on the other end of the line. Dean excused himself from the kitchen and went out to the back porch for privacy. "When Cas died the wall shattered. Or maybe when he broke the wall in Sammy's head he broke theirs too. There are a million possibilities and Cas isn't around to tell us which is jackpot. But either way there's a good chance they remember it all, Dean."

Dean sighed heavily. "I was worried about that." he mumbled, running a hand over his face. "Thanks, Bobby." Dean said then they hung up. He turned back around to see Ben standing just inside the doorway. "Come here, Ben, I wanna talk to you."

Ben hesitated but finally joined Dean on the top step of the deck. They sat side by side, Dean's feet on the third step and Ben's barely reaching the second. "What's up?" Ben asked.

"Umm…about what happened…the last time…" Dean grumbled awkwardly. He had absolutely no clue how to approach this subject.

"You mean when you got Mom and I kidnapped by demons? Is that what you're talking about, Dean?" Ben snapped sarcastically.

Dean was devastated. "You…remember that?" he whispered but Ben just shot him a dirty look.

"How could I forget, Dean? You almost got us both killed." Ben said, staring out at the back fence.

"You know I never meant for any of that to happen-" Dean was in the middle of saying but Ben scoffed at him. "No I'm serious. I never wanted you or your mother in danger. That's why I left, Ben. I never wanted any of this for you guys."

"Yeah well it happened! And instead of dealing with it, you ran away, Dean." Ben retorted. "Good intentions will only get you so far. You walked out on your family after you put them through hell."

"You don't understand-" Dean said but stopped himself. "No…I'm not going to undermine you. Here's how it is, Ben. I screwed up but I've dealt with that. You and your mom got hurt and I kill myself every day for that but I can't change a damn thing. So don't say I didn't deal with it, cause I did. I just dealt with it away from you guys so I wouldn't do anymore damage. Can you at least understand that?"

Ben was quiet a minute. He looked over at Dean for a moment, understanding in his eyes. But instead of reassuring Dean, Ben just got up and walked back inside. Dean let his head fall to his hands. This was getting to be too much. The absolute definition of too much.

ŠŠŠ

Dean and Sam slept out in the Impala again that night, but Dean didn't sleep much. They were on watch taking turns keeping and eye on the house and its occupants. Ben told Sam they could sleep inside if they wanted but Lisa shot that down. She was still broken over Dean and she didn't want him sleeping in her living room. So they crammed into the Impala to sleep for the 1millionth time in their lives. But at least Lisa offered them breakfast in the mornings; which they accepted gratefully.

Lisa had to work in the morning and Sam agreed to follow her but Dean was anything but excited about spending the day alone in the house with Ben. There were too many emotions boiling in the house so he switched with Sam and followed Lisa to work and parked out front. He called in every few hours to make sure nothing was happening on the inside of the office building. Nothing was happening though. It was completely uneventful.

Just before Lisa was done for the day, Dean's phone began to ring. It was Sam. "What's up-" He barely got the words out before Sam was talking over him.

"Its here," Sam said loudly. "It's out back."

"Get Ben upstairs. We're coming back now." Dean ordered, starting the car. He pulled up to the front door and threw it in park. "What's it doing?" he asked as he rushed into the building.

"Dean it's just standing there staring at the house. Ben noticed him when he went to check the lock on the back door." Sam replied. He was standing by the front door, a machete in hand and a bottle of Borax on the counter just in case. Instead of sending Ben upstairs where Sam couldn't keep an eye on him, Sam had him sit on the stairs where he could watch him and the Leviathan at the same time. And if the Leviathan rushed the house then Ben could just run upstairs and barricade himself in his bedroom.

"What do mean its just standing there? Isn't it…I don't know, attacking?" Dean asked, confused. He found Lisa's office and barged right in. "We gotta go now. It's at the house." he told her sternly, a hand under her arm as he guided her back down to the car. She ran beside him, too scared for Ben's safety to bother with punching out or the suspicious looks her coworkers were giving her.

"No it's not doing anything, Dean. He's just standing outside smiling at the house." Sam said, looking out the top part of the door.

"Stay there, Sam! Don't go out after him." Dean commanded, reading his little brother's mind even over the phone.

"But we might not get another shot at this this, Dean. We gotta-"

"No, Sam. Stay with Ben. We'll be there in a minute." Dean snapped then hung up on him so he could drive faster. Not but a minute latter, the Impala's tires screeched to a stop outside the house and Lisa and Dean jumped out. Sam let them in and Lisa went straight for Ben to make sure he was okay.

"I'm telling you man, he hasn't done anything." Sam said as he closed, locked and double-checked the front door after them. "Dick's gotta be behind this. He's gotta have that guy by the short and curlies." Sam and Dean rushed to the backdoor, Ben and Lisa at toe.

"A no-harm-rule?" Dean guessed. "That doesn't make any sense, man. They eat people so why the hell wouldn't they attack us? You two were practically sitting ducks here…you know, aside from the machete. We don't even know how to kill these things so why don't they start picking us off one by one?"

"Winchester!" a voice yelled from the other side of the door and Sam and Dean stared at each other. Sam shrugged, handed Dean a knife then opened the backdoor. The Leviathan smiled at them. "I just wanna talk to you." he said but neither Sam nor Dean replied. "No harm no foul. Just talk to me."

"Got nothing to say." Dean shouted back at him, holding his knife ready.

"I got plenty. This is your warning, Winchester. Leave us alone or we start picking off your family one by one." he threatened sadistically.

Fear flashed on Dean's face for a millisecond then he covered it. "We'll never stop hunting you sons of bitches." Dean retorted sternly.

The Leviathan laughed. "We'll see how you feel about that when your little buddy in there is in pieces- you know the cute kid who looks like you. Or maybe the woman. It would be a tragedy for her to suddenly have an accident at work while you can't watch her."

Dean stood firm but on the inside he was flipping out. He didn't know what to do. He was cornered. In his peripheral vision he could see Lisa holding tight to Ben by the door, just out of the Leviathan's view but still close enough to Sam and Dean to be safe. He wished none of this was happening.

"Maybe we're pushing the wrong buttons…" the Leviathan mumbled, thinking. Then he smiled and said, "That Elita is a nice chick."

Fear flashed on Dean's face again for just a second too long. The Leviathan laughed uproariously. "And there it is," he said viciously. "It would just tear you up to find out that precious little redhead suddenly went missing wouldn't it, Dean? That would be a terrible thing."

Dean growled under his breath. He dragged Elita back into this lifestyle; he wasn't going to let her die now.

"Back off tiger or you can expect the worst." the Leviathan said as he backed away. Dean blinked at he was gone through the bushes. Every fiber of his body told Dean to run after it but with no way to kill it and people in danger, he had to go back in the house.

"Grab your things." he barked at Ben and Lisa and this time they didn't argue. Lisa rushed Ben up the stairs to pack their things. "We gotta get them out of here."

"And go where? Bobby's so they can kill him too? Elita so they can kill her? We got nowhere to go here, Dean. I say we stay and fight." Sam replied.

"Don't argue with me on this, Sam! Please just…I need your help not your opinion right now, Sammy. I'm losing it and I don't know what to do. I'm going with what we've got." Dean admitted, his eyes bugging out. Sam had seen this look few times but he knew not to test his brother now. So he just nodded and began packing a few things together. A few minutes later, Lisa and Ben came back down the stairs with suitcases.

"My parents have a place on the outskirts of St. Cloud that we can use." Lisa said as they rushed out of the house. They threw their bags in the trunk of the Impala then piled inside, off to St. Cloud.

ŠŠŠ

"Damn it, Lita, answer your phone!" Dean yelled, nearly throwing his phone against a wall. They were at a rest stop so Ben and Lisa could use the bathroom and they could fuel up. Sam was in the passenger seat with his head out the window.

"She's not answering me either." he said then looked down. "You don't think…" He let his sentence trail off.

"No," Dean replied sternly. "Absolutely not." The hope that Elita was okay was the only thing keeping Dean going at that moment. She just _had _to be okay. He didn't know what he'd do if she wasn't.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: As promised, I am updating again =) Enjoy!

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><p>With the exception of a few stops, Dean drove straight to St. Cloud. He wouldn't even switch with Sam; he just sped to safety and kept trying to reach Elita every few minutes. He was considering driving to Durand just to make sure she was okay as he called her for the hundredth time. Ben and Lisa were asleep in the backseat holding each other and Sam was in the passenger seat with his head against the window, awake but unbelievably consumed in thought.<p>

"Dean?" Elita answered, sounding breathless. "It's really late-"

"Lita where are you?" Dean asked over her and that caught Sam's attention. He sat up straighter, staring at Dean intently.

"I'm still in Durand. Finished up the case tonight I figured I'd wait till morning to head out. It was crazy, Dean. The waiter from the dinner? Yeah, he was pulling some major hoodoo. I thought it was the-"

"Listen to me, Lita. You need to get to St. Cloud, okay? Leave now." Dean told her sternly. He heard a car door close on her end of the line and silence. He could picture her outside her hotel, just getting in from finishing the case. She was probably in jeans and boots with no jacket- she could never remember to wear a coat! He thought he could hear rain around her so she was probably cold and wet standing outside by her car worried by the tone of Dean's voice and the confusing words he was using. He wished he had a better way of doing this. In his mind he hugged her- just to make sure she really was okay- then, using his best reassuring tone, told her that she was in trouble but that he was going to make it better as he tucked a lose strand of her wet red hair behind her ear.

"Dean you're scaring me. What's wrong? Tell me what's going on." she whispered, the words barely audible. Bless her for rarely hiding her fears. She was one of the strongest people Dean knew, but when she was scared she didn't bother putting on a stern face. She let you know that she wasn't sure how things were going to work out. She was honest.

"I can't tell you know, Lita, just promise me you'll leave as soon as you can. Go to St. Cloud; I'll meet you there. It's a safe place for now. I'll tell you everything as soon as I see you, I promise." Dean replied, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had to keep her safe. Dean turned to look in the backseat where Lisa was asleep with her arms around her son. Them too. He had to keep them safe. If it was the last thing he did, Dean would keep those two in the backseat, his brother next to him, and his lover on the phone safe. No matter what.

"St. Cloud is about three hours from me. Give me the address and I'll meet you guys there. How far out are you?" Elita replied hurriedly. She snapped into work mode immediately and Dean was thankful for that. He heard her car door open again as she probably began grabbing things to pack up.

"We're about an hour out of Rochester and another three hours from there to St. Cloud." Dean replied. He gave Elita the address and she memorized it. They were about to hang up when Dean said, "And, Lita…watch out for yourself." She promised- swore even- then they hung up. Immediately, Sam needed to know if she was fine.

"She's gonna meet us in St. Cloud." Dean told him. "She's closer so she'll probably get there first but she's avoiding highways- like we should be, by the way- so it might take her a bit longer. Oh and she wrapped up our case."

Sam smiled. "She's an overachiever."

ŠŠŠ

By the time Dean pulled the Impala up to Lisa's parents house in St. Cloud, Elita's Roadrunner was already there waiting under the carport. Relief welled up inside of him as the car came into sight; he still needed to see her but seeing her car was almost enough. He threw the car in park and killed the engine. Lisa and Ben had officially awakened in the backseat so they all got out and went straight for the house.

Elita exited the house and stood in the threshold. Lisa stopped before her. "You're Elita?" she asked, holding a hand out to Elita. They shook, exchanging purely courteous smiles but there was tension between them from the get-go.

"That I am. And this must be Ben? Nice to meet you kid." Elita replied. Ben didn't shake her hand but then again she didn't offer it. Her smile was a bit more amused when she smiled at Ben. He followed Lisa into the house and Elita went to the Impala to help them bring in the bags. But Dean stopped her.

"Oh wow…" she mumbled with a chuckle as Dean smothered her in a hug. He held unbelievably tight to her, clinging to the reality that she was okay for the time-being. Elita wrapped her arms around Dean's waist as he knotted his hand in her hair. "Its okay, Dean." she whispered to him.

It took a minute, but finally Dean sniffled and pulled away. He smiled self-consciously at her and she winked at him, patting his chest. Sam was awkwardly watching with a smile so Dean shot him a dirty look. Elita helped carry a few bags inside but before Dean could make it away from his little brother, Sam said, "Like I said; marry her." with a cheeky smile.

Once everyone was inside and reasonably comfortable; Elita, Dean and Sam set out to nail down a game plan. They still didn't know how to kill the Leviathan but they knew how to slow them down and that would have to do for now. Elita and Sam wanted to go after them but Dean was adamant about hunkering down and waiting it out. He didn't see very many other options considering their situation; no way of killing them and two civilians. So for the time being they set up camp in St. Cloud.

Elita was unpacking some of her things in one of the bedrooms on the second floor when Lisa walked in. "I'm sorry we dragged you into this." Lisa said as she stood in the doorway. Elita shrugged it off.

"This is my job. This is what I do." Elita told her. She threw her clothes in a big pile in a dresser drawer then threw her bag under the bed. She kept her weapons- a butterfly knife, a revolver around her ankle with silver bullets, and an extra silver knife in the top of her pants.

"I'm sure you have much better things to do than baby sit me and my son."

"Yeah well…Dean asked me to come, so I came. End of story." Elita replied. "Besides if I hadn't been called in on protection duty I would be sitting at home cooking and worrying about Dean and Sam while they are doing this. I'd much rather be here where I can keep an eye on them."

"So how do you know the boys? I've never heard them mention you before now." Lisa asked; hands in her pockets and a real blaze look on her face. But Elita could tell not knowing was kind of killing Lisa a bit.

She chuckled. "We met a long time ago. I knew their dad and them when we were all just stupid teenagers." Elita told her.

"You were all hunters then too?" Lisa asked.

Elita broke eye contact then. She wasn't sure how much to tell Lisa. She never told anyone anything about her personal life but there was a good chance they'd wind up spending a lot of time together soon. Still, Elita didn't want to tell her everything. So she said, "Yeah we were. Sammy and I wanted out but we were in it nonetheless."

"Sorry, wanted out? I don't get it. I thought all hunters did this because…well I don't know why. I always thought it was a necessity or a blood thing."

"Most hunters start when someone they love is killed by something evil. That's how it worked for the boys and Bobby and most of the hunters I know. And like the boys, I was raised in the life. Sammy and I though…I guess we just wanted normal lives." Elita replied awkwardly. She didn't know to explain hunting to someone who wasn't a hunter. The only people she tried explaining it to were potential victims (who all thought she was insane) and Jesse (who also thought she was insane). It was rare that someone knew and believed in what lurks in the dark without taking up the lifestyle.

"That's not something a hunter can have?" Lisa asked and Elita shrugged.

"What do you think?"

"I think everyone is entitled to what makes them happy." Lisa said. There was a lag in conversation after that and so when Ben called for Lisa downstairs she left Elita's room.

Though she didn't like Lisa, Elita had to agree with her. Everyone is entitled to what makes them happy. It took Elita a while- as it did with Sam- but eventually they figured out normal doesn't make them happy. That being with loved ones and hunting was the only thing that made them happy. And though Dean went about figuring it out in a much different way, he figured that out as well. The only thing left was making sure Lisa knew that too.


	6. Chapter 6

After she cooked dinner, Elita went out to the back porch for some fresh air. Things between her and Lisa were…awkward. And Dean was freaking out. He was putting on a reasonable game face for Lisa and Ben but even Dean had a few holes in his mask. Elita wasn't exactly keeping her cool either. It wasn't easy babysitting two people possibly standing in the way of you being with the man you love. Lisa's past with Dean almost frightened Elita. It would be very easy for Dean to opt out of the life after everything that has been happening.

"What are you doing out here?" Sam's voice asked behind her and she turned to see him coming out to join her. Sometimes, Elita caught herself staring at Sam. He'd changed _so_ much. He was such an adult all of a sudden. She was used to little fourteen year old Sammy; but now he was a big- massive!- grown man who towered over her and could kill her with his bare hands.

"Just getting some air. That house seems to be lacking some." Elita replied. She was nursing a beer but hadn't drank much of it. She offered it to Sam who took a sip.

"Yeah I know what you mean. Not exactly what we had in mind for the week, huh?" he mused, bumping shoulders with her. She chuckled despite herself. "We're not gonna be able to stay here long. We gotta find some place else to go."

"You really think Dean's gonna pack them up again and leave?" Elita questioned and there was doubt in both of their eyes. "He's stupid and stubborn which means we're gonna be here a while."

Sam sighed in exasperation. "We should be fighting not sitting around here with our thumbs up our asses." he grumbled.

Elita agreed. "Yeah we should but there's no way Dean is ever going to go for it; not while he's got Ben and Lisa trailing along behind him. He'll lay low till we all die of old age before he goes head long into the fire." she said.

"What if we found a way to kill these things?" Sam suggested but he got a sour look from Elita. "I know it's a long shot but-"

"They are immortal, Sam. There's not going to be some magical weapon that'll kill them. And you're not gonna find it any time soon." Elita replied, the voice of reason. "Sorry, Sam, but I think we're just gonna have to go along with Dean for a while this time."

Sam sighed, looking away. Elita touched his hand lightly, giving him a sympathetic smile. She made her way back inside where she found Ben in the kitchen sitting on the counter with a Red Bull. She laughed, pulling a beer out of the fridge and hopping up next to him.

"Sometimes I wish I could drink that too." Ben said as they each sipped their drinks. Elita looked at him, smiled, and switched beverages with him.

"If you tell any of the adults around here that I did this, I'll kill you." she warned him then threw back the Red Bull in nearly one gulp. Ben sipped the beer slowly, still unsure of the taste. Elita let him finish it though.

"Aren't you an adult around here?" Ben retorted and she shrugged.

"Only by law," Elita said and Ben laughed. "We're probably on the same maturity level, you and me."

Ben smiled triumphantly. "I'm very mature for my age so you should feel privileged." Ben told her. She slapped the back of his head but laughed at him anyway. They sat in silence for a little, each of them just staring down at their feet.

"Why are you up right now?" Elita asked, noting how late it really was.

"Couldn't sleep. It's kind of difficult…with all of this going on." Ben replied, shrugging. Elita looked over at him and recognized the same fear she'd seen every day in the mirror when she was a kid. There was nothing worse than losing sleep while her parents were off on a hunt. It was easier when she was with Bobby because she had something to distract herself with- be it, shooting or poker or whatever else Bobby came up with that day.

"Don't worry; we got this." Elita told him, bumping shoulders with him. He smiled half-heartedly up at her. "The boys and I do this all the time. Protecting you and your mom is no big deal."

"So you know how to kill these things?" Ben asked.

Elita cleared her throat. "Well…no not yet. But we're working on that. And right now we know how to at least slow them down."

"How so?"

Elita hopped off the counter and opened the cabinet under the sink. She pulled out a box of borax and put it on the counter. Ben looked at her like she was crazy. "This stuff burns the hell out of them, believe it or not. Throw a bit of this at them then cut their head off and it'll slow them down enough to at least get the hell away." Elita told him.

"You're telling me soap is the only thing you people know of that hurts them?" Ben snapped and she laughed at him. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Isn't it though?" she chuckled. "But it is what it is. They are supposed to be immortal but Sam and I are holding out hope that we'll figure something out soon."

"Well…good luck with that. Until then, mind if I sleep with that by my mom's bed?" Ben replied and Elita smiled at him, handing over the box of borax. He took it and carried it upstairs with him, smiling despite the situation. Elita caught herself thinking Ben was the kind of kid she could get used to having around. Having him around meant Lisa would be around and she didn't want either of them around but Ben wasn't so bad. At least he was bearable.

Elita made her way through the house to the study where she'd last seen Dean. He was still there behind the desk where she left him only now he was asleep with his head against the desk. She went around to him and tapped the back of his head. He shot upright so fast he accidentally hit her. He swore under his breath as she stepped back, arms up.

"Whoa my ninja; its just me." she said innocently, holding her hands out in the universal sign of surrender. He sighed, running a hand down his face as he tried to wake himself up. He apologized quietly as he shuffled around the papers on his desk and stood up. He went to walk away but she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Get some sleep, Dean." she said gently. "You're exhausted. Sam and I can manage while you get a few hours rest. There's a couch in the living room by the door if it'll make you feel better."

It was clear Dean didn't want to go to sleep but Elita insisted. She even guided him to the living room and threw him down on the couch. Of course he had weapons close by but as long as he got a few hours of sleep she didn't care. He was out in a minute.

Elita went to the kitchen and got a beer (because Ben drank hers) and her keys. She went to the Road Runner and riffled through some of the crap in her trunk and backseat. She finally found the book she was looking for and grabbed it; locking the car and heading back inside. She sat in the living room with the book and started reading.

Throughout the night she watched Sam walk about the house with nothing to do, Lisa wake up and go back to bed eight times, and Ben go to the kitchen twice an hour but come back empty handed. No one was sleeping besides Dean. She thought that was kind of odd but wouldn't dare wake him considering how badly he needed the rest. And he didn't wake up on his own accord until close to seven but even then he didn't get up. He woke to the sound of Elita talking quietly so he closed his eyes and listened carefully.

"I know, Bobby…" she said into the phone as she paced the length of the room. "I'm being supportive…no its not ideal but its necessary…I hate it just as much as you do…no I'm not letting him….no I swear…would you let me finish? I'm telling you now and you can bring it to my grave; Dean Winchester is not walking all over me and he never will. I'll dump his sorry ass if he ever tries. I appreciate your concern, Bobby, I really do. But in this case, I'm helping a friend; that's all." She went to hang up but something Bobby said on the other end stopped her. She paused, turning to make sure Dean was still asleep, then whispered, "You know its killing me, Bobby, for God sake I'm protecting the ex of the man I'm in love with. But at least this way Sam and I are here. How much damage can Dean do to our relationship with the two of us here?…don't remind me of that…thanks, Bobby. I'll let you know if we find anything." Elita kept talking for a minute more about less serious stuff before hanging up.

Dean groaned loudly, rolling over and rubbing the back of his hand against his eyes. "Morning sleeping beauty." Elita teased as she fell to a chair opposite him. "Did you sleep well? Cause you were snoring pretty deafeningly."

"Where is everyone?" he asked, sitting up. He really needed those few hours of sleep but in hindsight there were much better things he could've been doing. Sam walked in as Dean was stretching and he made a lighthearted comment about sleeping on the job. "Why is everyone in such a good mood?" Dean asked grumpily, watching Ben stumble down the stairs.

Ben sat next to Elita on the loveseat, rubbing his forehead like he had a headache. "You're not in a good mood…" Elita mumbled then laughed. "Hung over?" she asked, chuckling, and Ben just about knocked her off the couch he hit her so hard on the arm. Elita laughed but they both got real quiet when Lisa walked down the stairs.

Dean felt like he was in an episode of The Twilight Zone or something; everything was so surreal. He felt like going back to bed and waking up again so things were different. But when he closed his eyes and opened them again everything was still the same. He just shook his head and went to the kitchen for coffee.

"So how long are we planning on hiding?" Sam asked having followed Dean to the kitchen like a puppy. Dean poured himself a cup and leaned against the counter.

"We're not hiding, Sam, we're being safe." he retorted and Sam gave him that typical bitch face of his. Dean was about to defend himself when Lisa walked in and they both got quiet. She got a cup of coffee for herself and offered one to Sam, who refused.

"So what's the game plan here?" she asked after a minute of silence.

Dean paused. "We…don't really have a plan right now- but we're working on it." he replied and she eyed him curiously.

"You mean to tell me you don't know what you're doing?" she asked seriously but Elita was the one to reply.

"We know what we're doing we just don't know what we're going to do next." she said, coming into the kitchen behind Sam. She looked so small next to Sam but the way she carried herself was nothing but strong.

"You said last night you don't even know how to kill these things." Ben rejoined, appearing quite literally out of nowhere. Dean couldn't help but think this is how it should've been when he woke up; everyone at each other's throats in a tense situation.

"We don't but we're trying to figure that out before we get anyone in danger." Sam replied.

"We already are in danger. You're just running from it now." Lisa snapped.

"As long as you do what we tell you to, you're not in danger." Elita barked.

"What about the borax? Won't that work?" Ben asked loudly, trying to talk over everyone else. Dean glared at Elita for telling Ben about that.

"That only slows them down, Ben; we still have to figure out how to kill them." Elita told him.

"Think of this as us buying time." Sam suggested.

"Really? Cause it seems to me like we're running like bitches." Ben rejoined. Elita chuckled, giving him silent props for the expert analogy. They _were_ being a tad cowardly but Elita couldn't tell Dean that without having him freak out on her.

Everyone got kind of quiet after that one. No one had a good rebuttal. Of course they were running like bitches. The Leviathan were scary fuckers and they didn't even know how to kill them. If they didn't run they'd die. But that didn't mean it wasn't eating away at all of them. Not only were they acting cowardly, they were sitting ducks just waiting for the Leviathan to come attack.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I'm making this up as I go when it comes to killing the Leviathan lol. I don't think any of us know what the hell is happening in season 7 so I'm just winging it ;) Enjoy!

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><p>Everyone in the house was tense to say the least. The only one with their head on straight seemed to be Ben. Dean was still insistent on staying where they were while Sam and Elita tried to convince him otherwise and Lisa just wanted to know what the hell was going on. She was really starting to get on Elita's nerves. Her priority as keeping herself and her son safe, which made perfect sense to everyone. But she didn't know what the hell she was doing! The only person she listened to was Dean. If Dean told her to stay inside then she'd stay inside. But if Elita told her to stay inside she'd ask a million questions then went to see if Dean agreed. Elita was just about ready to throttle her.<p>

Sam had his nose in a book, sitting with Elita in the living room. They'd been working nonstop trying to come up with a way to kill the Leviathan- and Bobby was too- but they still didn't have much of anything. Sam had a few half-baked ideas but none of them seemed legitimate. So they kept looking and reading and researching.

"Okay I'm out of here." Elita finally said, sitting up from the couch, tossing the ancient book she'd been reading onto the coffee table. She'd been using Sam as a backrest while they both read so when she sat up he lowered his book as well. "I can't stand these four walls much longer and I'm starting to go cross eyed from all this reading."

She stood up and stretched her arms. "Where are you gonna go?" Sam asked, not standing up but watching her. She put her boots on and searched for a hair tie so she could pull her hair off her neck.

"My car has been making a weird rattling noise, I'll go figure out what that is." she replied and Sam chuckled at her. Of course she wouldn't actually leave them; not while such pressing matters hung over their heads. But when Lisa came downstairs and saw Elita leaving she immediately asked where she was going.

"Gonna work on her car." Sam replied lazily, leaning back into the couch with his book. It would be nice to go out there and help her if just to get the hell out of the house but he couldn't leave his work. He needed to find a way to kill these things, no two ways about it. He would find a way; even if it took him a whole year, he'd find a way.

Elita popped the hood of the Roadrunner open and grabbed some tools from the trunk. She had her suspicions as to what was wrong but she tinkered around wasting time anyway. A few minutes latter the front door opened and Ben stepped out with a beer in his hands. "I thought you might want this." he said, handing her the drink. She looked up from the engine and smiled, taking the beer and twisting the cap off.

Ben leaned against the car lazily as Elita drank, watching him. "You know anything about cars?" she asked and he shrugged.

"Dean taught me a little." he told her. She motioned for him to come around to the front of the car and join her under the hood. She told him what was happening and asked what he thought the problem could be.

"Umm, low carb?" he asked, looking up at her. She smiled, nodding approvingly. She handed him a tool and he looked up at her questioningly. "You're gonna let me fix it?"

She shrugged. "Sure why not," she said lazily. Ben's face lit up and he leaned in to start working. "But if you screw up my car I'll fuck you up kid." she clarified and he just smiled at her. Elita leaned back and watched making sure he didn't mess anything up. He was pretty good with it- needed to put more shoulder into it- but if they worked together they could fix it. Eventually Elita was satisfied with what they had done and she told him to get in and start it up. Ben went around to the front seat and started the car. They waited to hear the rattling noise but when they didn't hear anything, Elita smiled and slammed the hood shut. Ben killed the engine and got out, giving her a high-five.

"Aww how cute is that." a man's voice said from the end of the driveway. Elita turned and immediately pushed Ben behind her. The Leviathan that had been stalking Ben and Lisa stood at the end of the long drive with a wicked smile. "The hunter and the child making nice. I'm sure Dean would be proud of you both."

"You have exactly one minute to get the hell away from here now." Elita told him, one hand on Ben's chest behind her and another hand reaching for her weapon. It was on the other side of the car sitting on the floor where she'd left it but she had a knife around her ankle that she could get to before the Leviathan made it up the driveway.

"Or what?" he challenged. "You screw ups don't even know how to kill us! We're immortal; you can't do a damn thing to me." The Leviathan took a step up the driveway and Elita took a step backwards, pushing Ben with her.

"We're not even hunting you scum bags so leave them alone." Elita retorted, still pushing Ben backwards toward the house.

"Oh this has nothing to do with you people." the Leviathan replied and Elita cocked her head to the side in confusion. "I'm hungry and who better to eat than the enemy." he said with an iniquitous smile.

Elita pushed Ben backwards. "Get inside, Ben." she told him seriously. He looked up at her worriedly but complied anyway. In the time it took Ben to get inside, the Leviathan had taken more steps towards her. She grabbed her knife and held it in front of her. It wouldn't do much to him but at least she could go down fighting.

Dean was heading to check on Elita and Ben outside when Ben busted through the front door. "He's back!" Ben shouted as soon as he was through the door. Dean dropped his cup of coffee and ran to the front porch. Ben swiftly moved aside so Dean could literally jump from the house onto the front steps. The Leviathan was just steps away from Elita already and all she had was a little knife to defend herself.

"Lita!" Dean yelled as he went to help her. But the sound of Dean yelling for her made Elita flinch and she lost control of the situation just as quickly. The Leviathan grabbed her, threw her against the car and before Dean or anyone could stop it; he bit down on her neck. Elita screamed loudly, blood dripping from her neck.

"No!" Dean screamed, barreling towards them. The Leviathan pulled away and Elita fell down, sliding down the car holding onto her wound. Dean unloaded his gun into the Leviathan despite it having no effect on him. But then…maybe it did.

The Leviathan gripped at his throat and started making weird choking sounds. Elita's blood was still on his lips as he began to gurgle and spit, falling to his knees on the front lawn. Everyone watched in disgusted amazement as the Leviathan keeled over and literally began to decompose before their eyes. His skin changed color and shriveled until he resembled that of a mummified corps.

"What the hell?" Dean mumbled under his breath, going over to where the Leviathan laid. He nudged the body with the tip of his boot and nothing happened. So he kicked him and still, nothing happened. "I think its dead." he said, his voice positively dripping in confusion. He turned to look at Elita with a baffled expression but when he turned around he remembered she was hurt and rushed to her aid.

Blood flowed down her fingers as she held the wound on her neck. Dean helped her sit up as Lisa, Ben and Sam all came outside. Sam stood on the porch guarding Lisa and Ben but he kept asking if Elita was okay. "Let me see," Dean begged Elita, trying to move her fingers. But she didn't want to move her hand and release the pressure. She looked up at Dean and sighed, letting him move her fingers away from her neck. She winced as the cool air hit her neck and stung.

"It's not too bad," Dean told her. "You're gonna be fine okay, Lita. C'mon let's get you inside." He wrapped her arm around his shoulder and helped her stand up. Blood trickled down her collar bone as Dean guided her inside and to the kitchen where he sat her on a stool by the counter. She immediately reached for a bottle of whisky before finally letting Dean patch her up. Lisa steered Ben out of the room so he couldn't see all the blood but Elita could hear him continuously ask if she was okay.

Sam went out front to collect the body. It certainly was dead that's for sure. How, that would have to wait. Sam dragged him outback onto the porch where they might be able to examine it. He threw a blanket over it and rushed back inside to check on Elita. When he entered the kitchen Dean was just finishing up covering the wound.

"How do you feel?" Sam asked tenderly, touching her shoulder. She threw back another gulp of whiskey and cracked her neck.

"Peachy," she retorted, wincing. She slid off the stool and went to the sink to wash the blood from her hands. The collar of her shirt was blood stained, as well has her neck. It would be difficult to wash until she could take the bandage off.

"Someone tell me what the hell just happened." Elita murmured, drying her hands on a dish cloth. "We don't know how to kill those damned things and yet I just did." The three of them exchanged baffled looks. "Are we even sure its dead?" she asked.

"Yeah it definitely aint moving." Sam replied. He'd been able to drag the lifeless body to the back yard and throw it down without it waking up. They'd keep an eye on it just to make sure but for now it was officially dead.

"I thought these things were immortal." Dean wondered aloud. Sam and Elita shrugged. "Well whatever the hell is happening we gotta figure out what immediately before more of those things show up looking for a snack."

Elita tossed the hand towel aside. She'd need a hell of a lot of aspirin to get rid of the headache she now had. She headed to the living room to get the pill bottle from her bag but she was stopped halfway there. Ben flew into the room and hugged her tight. She froze for a second then lightly patted his back. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, looking up at her with scared eyes.

"Yeah, Ben. I'm fine. Just a little love bite." she told him, smiling a little. It was an unusual feeling to have someone worry about her. Of course the boys and Bobby worried about her if she was hurt; but this was different. This was a kid she'd just met who, theoretically, should hate her. After all, she stood in the way of him having Dean as a father. He was a good kid though. Even if she didn't know why he liked her, she knew she liked him.

"Is it dead?" he asked, taking a step backwards. Elita shrugged, making a weird facial expression.

"Erm…I think it is. I'm not really sure, actually. In fact I don't know what the hell anymore." she replied honestly. "But we're safe for now." she promised, mussing his hair. He smiled up at her and she returned the gesture. Yeah she could get used to Ben.

ŠŠŠ

Dean called Bobby with the news and Bobby left for St. Cloud immediately. It would take him a few hours to get there but in the mean time, Elita and the boys worked hard to figure out what killed the Leviathan. Thy were safe enough in St. Cloud still but Dean wanted to leave in a little while just to be safe. It took some negotiating, but Elita "offered" her apartment as shelter. More like Dean forced her to.

"Shouldn't we be getting out of her?" Lisa asked. Everyone was in the living room, Sam and Elita on the couch with books while Dean sat at a desk with another pile of books while Lisa paced the length of the room. Ben just sat in a chair across form the couch playing a video game.

"We're safe here," Dean told her. "We need to do some more research and we can't do that on the road. When Bobby gets here we'll go to Elita's place." He looked up at Lisa who was beyond scared. All of those feelings she'd been keeping at bay seemed to be coming back to her in a flood. Dean felt bad for her. She couldn't cope with all of these strangers around.

"But that thing found us here which means the others can find us too." Lisa whined.

"I've been tracking them," Elita piped in. "Most of them are in a warehouse a whiles out. If they wanted to find us they'd be out there looking for us. We're not a problem to them."

"We will be when they find out you killed one of them." Lisa retorted. Dean agreed but asked Lisa to just trust him- he knew best. Elita disagreed with him but she didn't want to gang up on him either. Lisa wanted to run and hide; Sam and Elita wanted to fight. Dean wanted to stay where they were. The only person who hadn't filtered in their opinion was Ben. There were still too many opinions circulating.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: I'm just making up a strange way of killing these Leviathan lol It's just something I came up with.

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><p>Elita was in the kitchen cleaning her guns when Lisa walked in. She paused for a minute, eyeing the multitude of weapons, then she went to the fridge for a drink. Elita already had a beer sitting next to her as she sat at the island. The silence between them was almost audible; it spoke to how different they were. And how much tension was between them.<p>

"I will be more than happy to get out of here and leave this whole thing behind me." Lisa said, just to fill the silence. Elita agreed by nodding her head but not saying anything. "I don't like this weighing on Ben so much."

Elita looked up. "He's not as weighed down as you are." she said quietly. "The kid is scared of course, but he's not as freaked out as you are." Lisa shot Elita a look and so she just shut her mouth. "Never mind."

"I know staying here is driving you crazy. You want to go out there and hunt these things. So why are you just blindly following Dean's orders?" Lisa challenged, leaning her forearms on the island where Elita was working.

Elita looked at her, deadpan. "...I'm not talking to you about this. And I could ask you the same thing. You don't listen to anyone but Dean." Elita retorted.

"I listen to him because he's the hunter and I'm not. He knows more then I do about this stuff. But you're a hunter too; so what...you're just fiercely loyal or something?" Lisa asked, slowly sipping her beer.

Elita sighed dramatically. "...well yes...but it's not just my loyalty to Dean that makes me listen..." she replied exasperatedly.

"Then what?"

Elita sat aside the gun she was cleaning. If Lisa was going to ask a bunch questions she wasn't going to get them clean anyway. "...Because he's a damn good hunter. And a damn good person, at that. Okay? Are you happy now?" Elita spat. She continued to mutter under her breath as she worked to clean a different gun.

"A good person?" Lisa persisted and Elita nearly growled at her. She was like a four year old asking too many questions.

Elita rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "I could write a ten page essay on why I find Dean Winchester to be an admirable person. Even with all of his, sometimes rather obnoxious faults. But I'm simply going to say this: Dean Winchester is who I wish all men were." Elita said seriously. They locked eyes for a long minute before Elita turned back to her work.

Lisa muttered something unintelligible under her breath as she sipped her beer and walked back out of the kitchen. That's how most of their exchanges ended; one of them angry and walking away. Usually it was Elita walking away to keep herself from tackling the woman to the ground and going for an artery with her teeth. But the tension was expected. Put two women who are both in love with the same guy in a tiny house for days on end with nothing to do and cat fights are inevitable. Elita thought she'd be able to control herself better though. It was just a lot harder than she anticipated. It was hard because every time she saw Dean and Lisa lock eyes, she could tell there was a lot of unfinished business.

Just then Dean walked into the kitchen. He grabbed a beer and leaned against the island next to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked, bending his head to check the bandage on her neck. She pulled away; loading the weapon she was cleaning and pointing it right at his chest in a split second.

"I swear the next person to ask me that is getting shot." she told him seriously and he threw his hands up in surrender. He moved a step back but smiled at her. Her weird frisky side sure was adorable.

"Sorry," he mumbled, taking a sip from his beer as she unloaded the weapon and laid it back down. He handed her the beer and she took a sip. "Bobby's on his way. He's freaking out- scared shitless for you."

"He shouldn't be, none of you should be. I'm perfectly fine; just a little headache." she lied. Under the bandage on her neck, her blood felt like lava. Is it possible for blood to hurt?

"Lita you don't have to put on a brave face for me. If you're hurting you can say so." he told her sincerely, ducking his head so he could look her in the eye. She gave him a small smile but they both knew she was still incapable of showing that kind of weakness. The only person that saw that deeply inside her was Bobby and that wasn't exactly willing; he had a way of just finding out, even if you never told him.

Elita finished cleaning the weapons and began to pack them away again. She was pretty much dying for something to do with her hands but as soon as the guns were loaded back into her army duffle, she went to the library to start research again. As she exited, Sam entered. Sam waited for Elita to be gone before he said, "How is she doing?" quietly. He'd gotten the same death threat as Dean earlier.

"In pain and freaking out; but covering it nicely." Dean replied exhaustedly. He ran a hand down his face looking more worn out then ever. He was trying to juggle too many balls and they were beginning to crash around him. Part of him wanted to let the crash and just be done with it. But there were too many other people involved for that to ever work. So until they found a solution, he would have to keep juggling as best he could.

"How are Lisa and Ben?" Sam asked and Dean looked up at him, nearly ready to punch his brother square on the nose.

"How do you think?" Dean retorted. "They both hate me; and with good reason. Lisa's barely talking to me and Ben likes Elita more then me. Not to mention they are both missing school and work and their friends and it's my fault. Oh and they are in severe danger; which is also my fault. And-"

"Okay, I get it!" Sam interjected. "It sucks, I get it. But maybe this will help…you know, maybe give you guys some closure."

Dean looked at his brother. He'd buried his feelings for Lisa long ago- he'd come to terms with everything. Was it fair? No not at all, but that's life. So he sucked it up and moved on. But everything bad seemed to have twisted around. They remembered everything- which wasn't good- but they remembered him and all the good times mixed in with those horrible times. And if he were oblivious, Dean would be able to see the love still in Lisa's eyes when she looked at him. Things had changed so much and yet at the same time they hadn't changed one bit. They had the absolute worst timing.

Finally, Dean let his forehead hit the island counter with a thud and a groan. Sam looked at him sympathetically as his brother just about passed out under the stress. "Then there's Elita!" Dean continued, still face down on the counter. "No matter what I do, she's being dragged behind me. I don't worry about her as much as I do Lisa and Ben because I know she can take care of herself but that doesn't mean I don't worry. God I spend more time worrying about you and her that I've completely stopped worrying about myself."

"I can barely understand you." Sam mumbled but Dean didn't lift his head at all.

"And this is killing her," Dean continued without pause. "I know it is and the fact that it's killing her is killing me and by the time we figure this whole mess out we're all going to be dead. It's going to kill us all. What a way to die. Give me a gun; I'll just end it now." All Sam could understand was gun so he just nodded and pretended to know what the hell Dean was saying.

Dean lifted his head. "Thanks," he grumbled, patting Sam's shoulder as he left the room.

Sam just shrugged mumbling, "Hush…you're welcome." under his breath.

"SAM!" Elita screamed suddenly and the boys took off running; appearing in the living room within a second. She stood up from the couch, holding a very old brown book that was falling apart. She looked up at them with an expression only defined as pure joy.

"What is it, Lita?" Dean asked breathlessly.

"I got it! I figured it out!" she exclaimed. By that point Lisa and Ben made it into the room. She stood between Ben and Dean, curiously staring at Elita.

"Figured what out?" Sam asked exasperatedly. She showed him the cover of the old book and it took him a minute to read it (because it was so worn out) but eventually he started smiling real wide. "Oh my God." he mouthed, his eyes lighting. Elita was holding a book Sam had seen over twelve dozen times in Bobby's collection and never read. Of course he hadn't read it, only someone as random and weird as Elita McKee would know Hebrew.

"Someone enlighten me please!" Dean shouted, frustrated. Elita turned to him, smiling just as wide as Sam.

"I know how to kill the Leviathan, Dean. It's in this book." she said, pure glee boiling up inside her. She flipped a few of the pages and read aloud, "There is one thing that can kill that which Purgatory was created for."

"That's the Leviathan." Sam interjected, still smiling impossibly wide.

"I get that, Sammy. What can kill them?" Dean asked anxiously.

"The blood of one whom Earth was created for." Elita continued and Sam interjected again.

"That's humans," Sam said and Dean shot him a dirty look.

"But if human blood kills them why haven't they been dropping like fleas? They've been snaking since they got here." Dean replied.

"I'm not done yet!" Elita snapped then kept reading aloud, "Mixed with the blood of one whom Hell was created for."

"Demons," Ben was the one to interject this time and they all looked to him. He just shrugged and looked away. Elita chuckled; at least the kid knew how to retain information and it wasn't all in one ear and out the other.

"So demon blood and human blood mixed together. Well we can-"

"Scheket b'vahkesha!" Elita yelled [shut up please] in Hebrew. She gave each of them the evil eye then continued reading out loud, "Housed in a vessel of one whom Heaven was created for."

There was silence until Dean said, "Angels?" quizzically. Elita and Sam nodded at the same time. "Demon and human blood in an angel?…How's that possible?"

Elita looked to Ben and Lisa, not sure how much they wanted to/should know. Ben got the picture, sighed, but grabbed his mother's hand and led her out of the room. Elita had to appreciate the kid for that.

"I have demon blood in me as well as human blood, right?" Sam told Dean and his brother nodded. "So my blood would work, however…"

He let Elita take over. "Sam isn't an angelic vessel. All we have to do is find an angel- in a vessel- and get it to take some demon blood and boom. Instant Leviathan killer."

That's when Dean sighed. "How are we going to find an angel? And why the hell would it drink demon blood for us? I've only ever met one Angel that even liked humans and that was Cas. He's gone now so what the hell are we supposed to do?" Dean barked.

Sam's smile faltered but Elita's didn't. "We don't need to find an angel, Dean." she said. "We've got me. I'm as angelic as we're gonna get; hell I was created with angel sperm so that's gotta count for something."

Sam paused. "But what about the demon blood?" he asked and Elita shrugged. "You don't have demon blood in you…I do, you don't."

"Actually…" she mumbled quietly. She could literally feel Dean's eyes on her. "Remember me telling you about the first time a demon came to my house when I was a baby?" she asked and they both nodded. "Well he wasn't there to kill me. The demons thought that if they could…_contaminate_ me then I wouldn't be as useful to the angels and therefore I wouldn't become the weapon or whatever everyone thought I would."

"You had a demon bleed in your mouth too?" Sam asked, a whole new look on his face. She could see a touch of fear mixed with wonderment in his eyes.

"It didn't work but yeah…when I was seven months old."

Dean turned towards her. "That's when you were with Bobby." he said- almost a question. She nodded solemnly. "You told me it tried to kill you."

"I wasn't exactly keen on telling my boyfriend a demon bled in my mouth at one point." she said honestly. "I just didn't know how to explain it and up until recently I didn't even know why the hell it happened. Bobby told me about it when I was old enough to understand but that didn't mean I did."

"So it's your blood that's toxic?" Sam asked, getting them back on track. "Because it's human, demon and angel."

"Think about it this way; there are only four places that hold beings. Earth for humans; hell for demons; heaven for angels, and purgatory for the Leviathan. What better way to kill one then to join the others?" she said. Dean looked like he might hit her but at the same time he was about an inch from falling down and crying. All three of them could see it.

"No," was all he said, running a hand down his face. He turned away from her, staring out the window blankly.

"Dean, what it would cost…don't you think it's worth it? I mean…its one life for-" Elita began to say, taking a step closer to him but she didn't finish her sentence before Dean turned around, the most fearsome look on his face.

"No, Lita, it's not worth it! We've taken enough hits from these damned things and we will not lose someone else. We'll find another way to gank them, but we're not doing it this way." he yelled. He looked down at her, trying to break her stubbornness with just his will. But she'd already made up her mind.

"We're not going to find another way, Dean! This is it; this is the _only _way and you know it. We're lucky this is so easy, Dean." Elita said quietly.

"What part of this is even remotely easy to you, Lita? How do you suggest we serve these things your blood? Let them bite you till they choke and die? Cause you'll die first. We could take blood from you but how much would we have to take? Because again, you could die, Lita. That's not easy. Not for me. I'm not gonna watch you die." Dean retorted.

Elita thought for just one second. But still, her mind was made. "This is the only way, Dean. It sucks, but it's the only way." Sam interjected gently. Dean turned against him too and started yelling at Sam too- raising all the same points he yelled at Elita for. Sam just took it until Dean started yelling at him for not backing him up.

"Dean, I'm not picking sides here. There aren't any sides to take." Sam tried to tell him. "We've come up with a way to kill the Leviathan, Dean, this is a good thing."

Dean put up a hand to stop Sam from continuing. It was too much for him to handle. He couldn't even fathom the idea of losing Elita too. "This is the furthest thing from good, Sam. We're not doing this. We can't." he said, his voice breaking.

Elita looked at Sam, asking him to leave without saying a word. Sam sighed heavily but turned to leave the room anyway. When they were alone, Elita reached out to grab Dean's hand. She held his large and rough hand in hers, holding tight to make him focus. "This isn't ideal, but it's our only option. I'm okay with this, Dean, I really am. I'll die for the cause. But you have to let me." she whispered.

Dena fought back tears as he looked down at her. "I can't." he whispered brokenly. "I just can't. Not you." A single tear slid down Dean's cheek and Elita whisked it away before it hit his chin. She tried to smile at him.

"You're Dean Winchester," she said proudly. "You can do anything. This is just something you have to-"

"No! You don't get it," Dean interrupted angrily. "I'm broken, Lita, I'm done! I've taken enough hits throughout my life and I'm not going to take another one. Losing you…it's a hit to the chest and it'll knock me on my ass I know it will."

"Only if you let it-" Elita tried to say but he stopped her.

"I've lost too much already, haven't I?" he asked, staring down at her. She swallowed hard; that was a low blow. Of course he had. He'd literally been through hell. He deserved a break but there wasn't one anywhere in sight. She couldn't force the words out of her mouth so she wound up just staring up at him until he ran a hand down his face and saying, "I've been through enough." and walking away.


	9. Chapter 9

It was dark out by the time Dean found out Elita was gone. He was in the study banging his head against the desk when he noticed the living room was awfully quiet. The Road Runner was gone, as were all of her things. He couldn't say he hadn't seen it coming but he still wished it hadn't happened. He immediately went out to the backyard where Sam was burning the dead Leviathan. He paused on the top step as his little brother turned to face him. This had the potential to be a disastrous fight.

"What's up?" Sam asked, walking over to where Dean stood. Dean looked him in the eye as he told Sam Elita was gone. "What!" Sam snapped immediately. "Where? How did she leave without any of us hearing?"

Dean sighed. "She probably pushed her car down the driveway before starting it and driving off. Her things are gone though. She's not coming back." Dean replied. The fissures of his heart began to splinter as he watched Sam react.

"We gotta go find her! She's gonna go after the Leviathan; she's gonna get killed." Sam said in a rush, heading back into the house. Dean followed slowly behind him.

"She doesn't want to be found, Sammy. We can't stop her." he said, his voice cracking. Sam swiveled around to stare incredulously at his older brother. He was just going to let her go? He was just going to let it end? Just like that; after everything? Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing. Dean wasn't just dragging his heels; he was refusing to go, to move, to save Elita. The girl he loves. He wouldn't even lift a finger to save her.

"What the hell is wrong with you? She's in trouble, Dean! We gotta help her. She could be out there right now fighting those monsters and losing. You get what that means don't you? She's going to die if we don't help her-"

"If we go out there, we're as good as dead too, Sam. Lisa and Ben too." Dean snapped. "I don't want to lose her either, Sammy, but we can't chase after her. She's just going to keep running away until we let go. I know her, Sam. I know she's not going to let this go until it kills her."

"You're the same damn way, Dean!" Sam shouted. "So why aren't you holding onto her?" Sam asked loudly and Dean froze dead still. The pain in his eyes was so intense it nearly brought tears to his eyes.

"Who?" a voice asked from the living room doorway as Lisa walked out. Sam and Dean turned to look at her before they both looked away quickly. "Elita left," Sam mumbled, his chin tucked to his chest as he shoved his hands in his pockets and studied the cracked in the hardwood floor under his feet.

"Because we know how to kill them?" Lisa asked and the boys nodded. "Wow…" she mumbled, folding her arms over her chest. "So what do we do now?"

"We go after her," Sam replied sternly, grabbing his jacket off the peg and storming out the door. Dean followed immediately behind him shouting after him. "I'm not going to let her get away, Dean!" Sam yelled, stopping halfway down the driveway. "If you want to be an ass to her then you go right ahead but I'm not letting her get away from us. She's the only good thing we have left, Dean! Can't you see that? She's the only friend we have. We have Elita and we have Bobby; that's it! You can't just throw that away."

Dean paused, his fists trembling. His heart and his mind were being pulled in two opposite directions and he didn't know which one to follow. He was desperate to get in the Impala with Sam and drag Elita back to where he could keep an eye on her. But he couldn't leave Ben and Lisa at the house alone with no one to keep them safe. He can't keep his eyes on all of them at the same time!

"I know you, Dean." Sam continued. "I know you want to go after her. You love her, Dean, and I don't care if you've admitted it or if you have that stupid open-relationship shit going. You two are in love and people who love each other don't do this! You don't let someone you love walk into a burning building…not alone."

Sam stood there for a minute longer, shaking his head at his brother. Finally he just grabbed the keys and got in the Impala, backing out of the driveway while Dean stood on the steps trembling. Dean watched his brother drive away with tears on his cheeks and his hands trembling at his sides. He dropped to his knees on the lawn whispering, "Come back," under his breath.

ŠŠŠ

Elita unfolded a map on the hood of her Road Runner. It was dark outside and drizzling lightly so she pulled out a flashlight to see where she was headed. She'd gotten lost and wound up taking two hours to travel a distance that should've only taken her forty-five minutes. She had the warehouse the Leviathan's were using marked on the map with a red circle. But finding her current placement was that easy. Eventually she found her way around the map and determined she was twenty minutes out yet. So she folded the map back up and shut down her flashlight. She was parked outside of a free clinic for a reason; so she pulled her hood up over her head and threw the map and flashlight in the backseat.

Elita walked up to the small building and entered behind a young mother with her four small children. They went up to the counter first and so Elita used them as a distraction as she crept to the back hallway. She moved from hallway to hallway until she found a supply closet and snuck inside. She locked the door behind her and pulled the light string to illuminate the supplies. It took her a few minutes of riffling through the poorly sorted items before she found what she was looking for. She grabbed a fist full of the needles and shoved them into the pocket of her jacket before clicking off the light and exiting the closet. She nearly got caught, but she made it outside before anyone noticed so she rushed to her car and didn't take any time getting the hell out of there.

A few miles up the road she pulled over and emptied her pockets onto the passenger seat. She wished it hadn't come to this as she rolled up her sleeve, grabbed a bandana to use as a tourniquet and grabbed a needle.

ŠŠŠ

Sam drove faster then he ever had before. He remembered nothing but the address of the warehouse Elita said the Leviathan were held up. He held his map up at a red light and looked for the address before the light changed. He found it just in time and circled it, speeding through the intersection as soon as the light turned green. He was about a half an hour out still but he was determined to make it there before Elita. He had to save her. He'd never forgive himself if he didn't. He pushed the gas pedal against the floor.

ŠŠŠ

Elita pulled her Road Runner to the side of the road and shut off the lights. The warehouse where the Leviathan were camped out turned out to be nothing of the sort. Sure it was broken down and fugly, but it was just an old southern plantation. The windows were mostly boarded up and the house had a slight tilt to the left. It was in complete disarray and was crawling with Leviathan. Elita counted two outside guarding the door and probably more inside.

She sucked in a deep breath to steel herself. The syringes with her blood sat on the passenger seat next to her and she studied them intently. She could toss them aside and go back now; she wouldn't have to do this. Or she could grab them and head right into that plantation and possibly end this battle for good. She sighed.

The shrill ringing of her cell phone made Elita jump straight off her seat. She riffled through her satchel for the phone but didn't answer it. She stared at the caller I.D. for a long minute. Dean.

He knew she was gone by now, she had no doubt about that. He was either calling to tell her to come back or calling to tell her that if she made it out alive she shouldn't bother coming back. _You lose my number_, she thought he might say. Or possibly something more like,_ I was wrong, Lita. Come back and we'll do this together_, maybe. Either way, he could successfully change her mind without even trying. So she silenced the phone and stuffed it back in the pocket of her shoulder bag.

Elita cracked her neck and sucked in a deep breath. _Now or never_, she told herself over and over again in her head. She grabbed the syringes off the seat next to her and opened the car door.

ŠŠŠ

Dean threw his cell phone to the couch with a pathetic thud and cursed under his breath. _Damn her_, he shouted in his mind. _Damn you Elita for doing this to me! To us!_

"Everything okay?" Lisa asked as she slowly entered the living room alone. She'd been upstairs with Ben for a good part of the night trying to explain to him what had happened. He wasn't taking it too well. He yelled for a while about how Elita was doing the right thing and that they needed to go help her. Then he just locked himself in an upstairs bedroom when no one would listen. Dean couldn't help Ben though so he just stayed away.

Dean glared at Lisa. "No. Nothing is okay." he snapped. He picked up his phone again and dialed Elita number a third time. "Lita. I swear to God." was all he said as a voicemail message then he hung up. He dialed again.

"You're going to break her phone. Obviously she isn't going to answer." Lisa said quietly from the doorway. Dean didn't care. He just kept calling her. "Dean calm down-"

"I can't calm down!" Dean yelled, swiveling towards her. "My little brother and my best friend are walking headlong into a burning building and I'm here babysitting you! So don't tell me to calm down." Lisa took a step back when Dean raised his voice at her. A look of hurt crossed her face before she fixed her emotions.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" she asked and Dean froze. He looked at her with a look of complete shock. "You want to be out there with them don't you? So get the hell out there."

"I can't leave you two here-" Dean started to mumble when they heard tires coming up the driveway. Dean took off running for the front door. He was disappointed that it was neither the Road Runner nor the Impala but it was the very best next thing. "Bobby!" Dean shouted with nothing but relief soaking his voice.

"Calm down, boy. What happened?" Bobby asked as he got out of his car and met Dean halfway up the driveway. Dean explained it all as fast as he could and by the time Bobby made it inside the house, he knew everything.

Lisa remembered Bobby and they shook hands just as Ben came down the stairs. "You remember Bobby, right?" Dean asked him and Ben nodded. They exchanged quiet pleasantries before they got down to business.

"So what do we do?" Bobby asked and surprisingly enough, Lisa was the one to answer."Dean is going after them." she said confidently. "You've got someone to look after us now. So go, Dean, just go!" She smiled sadly at him but it was all the blessing Dean needed. He silently thanked her before asking Bobby for his keys.

"Dean wait!" Ben yelled just as Dean was heading down the porch steps. Ben stepped out of the house and slammed the door in Bobby and Lisa's faces.

"I don't have time, Ben-" Dean started to say before Ben cut him off.

"You screwed up," Ben started. "You screwed up what you and Mom had. I'm over it. But I really like Elita and I think you two make a good team. So don't screw this one up, okay? As much as I want you around and as much as I liked having you as a dad…you need to tell _her_. You gotta tell Elita everything." Ben said passionately.

Dean paused. "Where is this coming from?" he asked, one hand on the car still.

Ben shrugged. "I've been watching you." Ben said. Dean flashed back to when Sammy was a little kid. He used to say stuff like that all the time. Sammy used to admire his big brother; he'd spent eleven years of his life trying to be just like Dean. He'd screwed that up too. He hadn't been a good role model for Sammy (or Ben). Especially lately.

So right then and there, Dean made up his mind to change the past. He'd make it right.

"I'll tell her." Dean promised him then got in his car and drove off.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: By far my best written chapter if you ask me =)

* * *

><p>There were two Leviathan outside the front door of the plantation. Elita made a game plan in her head of how she'd get in. She snuck around to the side of the plantation and hid around the corner. Part of the wall was crumbling so she grabbed a brick and threw it into the bushes to her right. She ran around to the back and waited with a syringe in her right hand. When the Leviathan came around to check what the noise was, she popped out and grabbed him. Sticking the syringe in his neck, Elita pushed the pump down, depositing a flow of Elita's toxic blood into the Leviathan. He dropped to his knees, gripping at his throat before toppling over and dying the same way the first Leviathan had. Elita left the Leviathan lie there as she went around to take down the other one. He went down the same as the first but after this kill Elita took a second to take stock or her "weapons." She had enough blood filled syringes to kill at least a dozen Leviathan so she grabbed them, took a deep breath and kicked open the front door.<p>

There were four Leviathan in the front hallway who charged her at once. She fought, taking a few hard hits, before sticking a syringe in each of them and watching them disintegrate before her eyes. She turned sharply to her right only to be confronted by a room full of Leviathan. They had the fireplace going in the corner but she could tell she'd stumbled into a meeting of some sort. Or perhaps a ritual. She didn't want to know.

"Elita McKee." Dick greeted her, showing little alarm. She stared him down as if she were looking straight down the face of a bull. She might as well have been for the pure evil in his eyes was disturbing.

"Dick." she replied; using both the name and the swear word. "You know why I'm here."

"To kill me I suppose." Dick replied lackadaisically. He stood by the fireplace, breaking something in his hands and tossing them into the fire. She couldn't tell what he held but it looked like bones to her. "And I see you've figured out how. May I ask?"

"My blood is pretty much acid to you suckers. A little bit of this stuff and ya'll are kaput." Elita replied, slowly entering the room. There were four other Leviathan aside from Dick but she could hear a few more outside.

"It must've taken quite a lot of blood to fill those syringes, no?" Dick asked and she just shrugged. "I'm truly surprised you're still even walking. I may have underestimated you humans. You may not be as futile as I may have originally suspected."

"Can we just get this over with?" Elita snapped impatiently. Sam and or Dean were probably on their way to talk her out of this already; time wasn't on her side. If she was going to go through with this- which she no longer had a choice- she needed to get the job done right away. She needed to kill these sons of bitches immediately or at least die trying. Either way, someone was going to die in the next few moments. That was a guarantee.

But as Elita prepared herself to fight, a struggle was ensuing outside the house. Multiple Leviathans fought to restrain someone outside before subduing the subject and dragging him through the front door nearly unconscious. Elita watched them dump the practically lifeless body to the worn wood floor with a thud. He was practically unrecognizable through the blood staining his face and the broken bones jutting in unnatural directions. But as Elita stared into his glossy, half-closed eyes she could feel her heart begin to crack down the middle. That was her friend. Her best friend. Her Sammy.

He'd come for her. Sam Winchester was selfless enough to risk his life- and nearly lose it- to save her. She couldn't wrap her mind around that. She knew the kid was stupid and moved upon feeling but she never thought he would be dumb enough for _this_. He was a better hunter than this! He shouldn't have come. She wasn't worthy of this. Of his friendship and loyalty. She wasn't worthy of him.

"Or maybe I gave you the credit you deserved." Dick mumbled in the corner, staring down at Sam like he was trash that needed disposing of. Elita forced her eyes away from those of her dear friend. She looked at Dick, seething visibly. If she were a cartoon, she'd surely have smoke coming from her ears. Screw the plan. He was going to die. She didn't care how. He would die. He would.

"You want those to be our last words?" Elita asked, pulling out her syringes and readying herself to fight. She'd come to terms with the idea of death. It was inevitable; she'd even come to terms with the idea that she might die tonight. She was okay with that. She didn't even necessarily want to make it out alive. Life was too complicated. She couldn't take herself out but maybe this was the best way of handling it. Maybe she'd stop hurting for a bit if she just stopped breathing.

"Stupid humans…" Dick whispered under his breath. Elita didn't give him a second chance to change his final words. She launched herself at the closest Leviathan. They were stronger than her and she was outnumbered; but if there was one thing she learned from the Winchester's its that no matter how stacked against you the odds are, you can always defy them.

Elita struggled with the first Leviathan while the others made their way closer to her. She had four on her at once and she was losing. Until, with a lucky shot, she got a syringe into one of them and he dropped to the floor. Stunned, Elita was able to get a jump on the other Leviathan after their partner fell. She took another down before taking a hard hit to the stomach and dropping a syringe which cracked and spilled onto the floor. She swore under her breath as she watched her precious blood travel down the cracked wooden floor boards.

She couldn't dwell very long and so she popped up and struck the Leviathan multiple times with brute force. She repeatedly hit him but he hit right back. The blood she lost to fill the syringes was weighting heavily on her and she didn't know how much she could take before she finally gave in. She didn't know how many of them it would take to kill her…but she knew how many they were going to use. At least she'd go down swinging.

A black haired Leviathan lunged from her throat, his hands landing on her shoulders and pinning her against the wall. She braced her left hand on his chest and punched against his elbow with her right; popping it inward- against the natural propensity. He screamed in agony as she did the same to his left elbow and soon neither of his arms were movable. He instantly became an easy target; so she took him down. She only had two syringes left and there was one Leviathan other than Dick she still needed to kill.

The second Leviathan leapt at her and they crashed backwards into the staircase and buckling it with a roar. A piece of wood jammed into her thigh as she rolled over on top of the Leviathan. She just got the syringe in his heart when he pushed her backwards with monster force. She flew across the room until she crashed against an interior wall, which also buckled under her. She heard the snapping of her bones over the sound of the crumbling wall. She let out an agonizing scream as her chest constricted painfully. The sting was horrifying as she landed on the floor; wood and plaster falling all around her. She lay on her side, gripping at her chest. She couldn't breath. It felt as if someone had sat a 2,000 pound bolder on her chest. Her heart galumphed away pitifully in her chest. She was dying.

Over her own agony, over the crumbling building, over the roar of the fire- now fueled dangerously high- she heard one thing. One evil sound. Dick. Laughing.

She turned her head excruciatingly to the side so she could see him laughing at her. He leaned over her torn and bloody body. "Nice try." he murmured, crushing her last syringe of blood under his boot. He won.

Or so he thought.

Just as he was about to turn and walk away, Elita pulled a spare syringe from the waistband of her pants and slammed it into his throat. The look on Dick's face as her blood pumped through his veins was well worth the price. He gripped at his throat, pulling the syringe from his skin. But it was too late. He screamed as his body decomposed with him still very much alive. He keeled over, looking her straight in the eye as the life drained away from him. He was dead. It was over.

Elita rolled onto her back with a sigh of relief. _It was over. It was really over_. The respite sank deep in the pit of her stomach and brought a smile to her face. At least she'd done something good. She was dying but at least she was going down as a hero; someone who had done one thing right. She'd ended a war- she'd lose her life to it, but at least it was over. Dean wouldn't have to worry anymore. Bobby wouldn't have to worry anymore. Sam wouldn't have to worry anymore. They could go back to being regular hunters fighting poltergeists and werewolves. Dean could focus on his favorite baddies: vampires. Or maybe they'd go about finding new things to hunt; discovering new species of evil to save unsuspecting victims from. They could be the Winchester's she'd once known so long ago. They could finally just be brothers again.

The pain radiating throughout Elita's chest was intensifying while also dulling the rest of her senses. She was soaked in blood- losing what little was left in her body. She couldn't tell if she was hot from the pain or if the room itself was actually growing hotter. She groaned as she shifted to look around. She hadn't noticed the smoke clouding the room until she looked to the fireplace and saw it- and the surrounding wall- engulfed in flames. But she didn't worry. She'd die before the flames reached her. This way, there would be no evidence. Make cleanup easier for the boys.

A moan slipped from her lips as she moved to lie on her side. She awaited death. But something caught her eye through the smoke. Some…one. Elita squinted, trying to make out the figure lying on the floor across from her. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. _Sammy_. She'd completely forgotten the brat had followed her into the fight. Now they were both going to die a fiery death.

_So help me God_, Elita grumbled to herself. _That boy won't die because of me_. It wasn't a question or a statement. It was a promise. She swore he would not die while she sat idly by without helping.

But as Elita looked at Sam's motionless 6 foot 4 frame, built entirely of muscle and cloaked in bloody plaid; all she saw was a little boy. A little shaggy haired boy with dreams wider than the skies, and problems just as infinite. He was fourteen again to her and he was little. When she looked at him there on the floor through the smoke he wasn't the massive man who could snap her like a twig; rather a little boy in need of her help. She had to help him. She had to do something.

The yelp of pain she heard when she struggled to sit up didn't even sound like her voice but she knew it was her. The pain was too excruciating for it not to have been her. She managed to sit up- though not without great pain and effort. As soon as she was upright, she needed to take a breather. But her chest protested excruciatingly as she tried to suck in a deep breath. She took a second to look down at her abdomen. It wasn't pretty.

Through the blood and her mangled tee-shirt, splinters of her ribs stuck through her skin. She could distinctly see the white of bone marrow as she pealed away her shirt. Elita had to look away from her gnarly stomach in order to keep from gagging. Instead, she focused on Sam.

The pain intensified now that she knew how truly horrific it was; but Elita managed to force herself to her knees and she began to crawl over to Sam. She touched his face gently at first then began to shake him violently. He wasn't waking. She checked his pulse to make sure he was alive, but whatever the Leviathan had done to him, it had knocked him out cold. He was bloody- though not nearly as bad as she- and unconscious. Elita shook with fear.

_So help me God, Sam. You are not going to die. Not now. Not like this. Not on my watch._

Elita looked to the fireplace again and cowered backwards at the massive flames crawling up the walls to the ceiling. The building moaned loudly, the flames trying to take it down. It was going to collapse any minute, and if they didn't die in the wreckage, they would die in the flames. Elita made up her mind quickly. She knew it would cause her the most pain of her life but it would be worth it. If she could just get Sam out of the building.

Elita positioned herself behind Sam's head and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hoisting him up so his head was in her lap. Then she achingly rose to her feet and began to drag Sam from the building. The pain shot through her entire body like an electric shock, burning every patch of skin where blood ran underneath. She screamed out in horrifying agony but forced her body to keep pulling Sam. He wasn't so little anymore as she dragged his body- easily double her weight- from the burning building.

Her eyes started to blur and her knees wobbled, as did her arms, but she soldiered on. Tears slid down her cheeks as the pain encompassed her entire body and she was absolutely sure this was death. As long as she made it through the door she'd die willingly. But until then she continued to drag her best friend from the burning building with all her might. Living through this was no longer an option for her. She honestly didn't want to live through it. But Sam _needed_ to and she'd make sure he did.

But he was a deadweight and massive; not to mention the fatal injuries she'd suffered. Getting him out was a slow and grueling process but she didn't stop or slow for a second. It was as if her own pain didn't even matter- none of it mattered. Because Sam was _good_. Was altruistic and loyal and most of all the kid was downright noble. If there was any hope left on earth it came in the form of Sam Winchester. She'd fight for him. She'd die for him.

The dim light from the streetlight out-front was like a beacon of hope to Elita as she desperately dragged Sam from the building. She got them to the door; goal number one accomplished. Now she just needed to get him far enough away that when the building collapsed and blew into flames, he wouldn't get hurt. So she didn't even stop and instead kept dragging him. She pulled and pulled, for the first time in the quiet night air, hearing the bones in her body protest. The snapping and the twisting were utterly ghastly as her broken body put out its last strains of effort. She'd get him to the street.

She got halfway there when her knees gave out and she slipped to the earth. The wet grass soothed her aching skin as she laid face down in the grass next to Sam. She heard him groan, saw him crack his neck. She wanted to reach out and punch him.

_What were you thinking coming after me_? She yelled at him in her mind. _And why in the hell couldn't you have woken up ten minutes ago, huh?_

It was then that headlights flashed over them and they both strained to look up. The familiar roar of a 67' Impala was the second beacon of hope for Elita. She'd gotten Sam to the street now Dean could do the rest. He'd get Sammy to a hospital and make sure he was okay. Dean could finish the job Elita had started.

She heard the squeaky car door slam and Dean's boots against the pavement as he ran towards the burning building. Sam called out to his brother and the boots faltered. "Dean! We're over here!" Sam screamed out, hoarse. Dean looked towards the sound and spotted his baby brother by the road and ran to him. Dean dropped to his knees and slid up next to Sammy, checking to make sure he was okay.

"I'm fine," Sam insisted as Dean checked his injuries. He helped Sam stand up then turned to help up Elita. She would have preferred he let her lay there and die but she let him hoist her onto her feet anyway. He didn't take a second to survey her wounds before he was showing her and Sam to the Impala. She leaned heavily on the two of them, her eyes crossing her line of vision and her legs began to feel numb. She was losing feeling.

_Good_, she thought. _No feeling = no pain_.

They got the Impala but that was as far as she could make it. She braced her hands against the trunk while Sam and Dean went to get inside. Blood began to drip from her lips as Elita fought to stay upright. Eventually gravity won and she collapsed to the floor with a crash.

"_Lita!_" was the last things Elita heard Dean scream before she succumbed to the black unconsciousness surrounding her.


	11. Chapter 11

Dean watched as Elita collapsed to the floor and his immediate reaction was to reach out and try to catch her. He failed and she hit the floor with a muted thud. "Lita!" he screamed as she fell. He fell to his knees beside her, finally taking a second to see just how bad of a condition she was in. He gasped in horror. Her chest, her perfect chest, was shredded. Bone sticking through flesh, blood gushing like a geyser. She was so pale and shaky, how had he not noticed before?

Dean immediately scooped her into his arms and yelled for Sammy to drive. He scooted into the backseat of the Impala with Elita in his lap as Sam slid to the driver side and pulled away from the burning building like a bat out of hell. He went well over five times the speed limit as he rushed to the nearest hospital. He was not going to let her die. After what she'd done to save him? He'd find a way to make her survive.

ŠŠŠ

Dean carried Elita into the ER, frantically calling to anyone who would listen. It honestly didn't take much. With the amount of blood she'd lost, everyone was amazed she was even still alive. He didn't relish the thought of letting her go but he placed her on a gurney anyway and watched the capable nurses and doctors wheel her away as they talked charts and medications and operations.

Sam ran his hand through his hair; willing himself not to breakdown. He wouldn't let himself be that vulnerable- not when his brother was so obviously close to the edge of insanity. He needed to remain composed in order to help Dean get through this. That's the least he could do. Elita would've wanted him to take care of Dean; she would've told him to be strong for his brother. She would've told them both to be strong for each other.

ŠŠŠ

It seemed like multiple lifetimes, the time it took for the doctors to operate. They rushed Elita back behind double doors and neither Dean nor Sam had heard a thing since. They were both pacing, incapable of sitting still for a second. Dean was shaking like an autumn leaf as he rung his fingers and paced the length of the waiting room. What was taking them so long? He knew it was bad but they could at least have the decency to come out and inform her loved ones that they were trying. But no. Nothing.

It took well over an hour before a doctor resurfaced from the double doors and walked straight up to the boys, asking if they could speak privately. The boys exchanged a meaningful glance before following the doctor into a vacated patient room.

"Due to the severity of Miss McKee's wounds, I have to ask how she got them?" the doctor asked seriously. Dean rolled his eyes. Elita was dying and this is how they chose to spend the precious time? They should be back behind those doors healing her!

"Hiking accident. Fell down the cliff." Sam replied fluently. It was a believable enough lie even though she'd arrived at the hospital in street clothes rather than hiking boots. But thankfully the doctor didn't question it. Maybe because he didn't really want to know what happened, or maybe because he didn't want to deal with it that moment. Either way, he sighed and dropped the issue.

"As for her current condition," he continued and Dean leaned in closer to him. He could hear fine but there was something in the doctor's tone that made Dean think he'd soon have to punch the man and he wanted to be ready. "We're doing all we can for her, unfortunately though her wounds are incredibly severe. She's shattered her ribcage, causing splinters to not only puncture her skin, but also vital organs. Unfortunately there's not much we can do and…well it doesn't look good."

Dean paused. "What do you mean? Is she going to make it or not?" he asked harshly; folding his arms across his chest.

"There's a very likely chance that Miss McKee will have suffered enough damage to her heart and lungs that a medically induced coma would be necessary. Though we will try everything to keep that from happening…you two might want to prepare yourself for the potential loss." the doctor said humbly before ducking out of the room to give the boys some peace.

Neither of them said a word as the news registered. This was it. She was really dying. They just got her back and they were already going to lose her.

ŠŠŠ

They released Elita from surgery but she was coherent. Upon getting his baring, Sam rushed out of the hospital. Dean wasn't sure what he was doing- probably calling Bobby or finding a faith healer- but he left him to it. Dean just sat in the room with Elita, holding her hand. He sat by the bed, close enough that he could whisper to her.

"You can't die now, Lita." he said brokenly, watching her emotionless face carefully. "I haven't told you! I promised I'd tell you. I gotta tell you everything, Lita. You gotta hear all the crap I've been shoving down since I met you. I gotta tell you how much you mean to me- and Sammy- and how you've changed me. I gotta tell you all the things you should've known but I never said. I gotta tell you I need you…I love you."

A single tear slid down Dean's cheek as he held Elita's hand to it. She was a blank slate in front of him. She was practically gone already.

Dean sensed a presence behind him and swiveled around, standing up and in protection of Elita. "Who the hell are you?" he asked wildly at the man suddenly standing in the room with him. The mysterious man was tall and long with brown hair and eyes. He was a daunting figure just standing there blankly staring at Elita. Dean shouted for him to answer.

The man shifted to look at Dean. He'd seen that look before. Dean recognized the slight irritation mixed with confusion on the man's face. Castiel used to look like that. Anna looked like that sometimes- as did the rest of the angels. Dean instinctively moved a step away, reaching for his gun.

"What are you?" Dean mumbled, staring down the man before him.

"I am Akriel, angel of the Lord." the man replied and Dean froze.

"You're Elita's father!" Dean mouthed, unable to raise his voice above a whisper. Then he got an idea. "Can you help her?" he pleaded. He didn't even care that he was asking a complete stranger for help. He just wanted to save her.

Without an answer, Akriel suddenly moved. It was too fast for Dean to see but suddenly the angel was standing on the other side of Elita's bed, touching her chest lightly. "She believes I've done nothing for her. Its best if she believes such." he said cryptically with sad eyes then disappeared into thin air. Dean jumped and looked about the room for the angel but he was nowhere to be found.

Dean focused in on Elita, praying silently in his head. If God was going to do anything for Dean, it would have to be this. It was going to take a miracle to save Elita and Dean was okay with that. He could conjure up a miracle if he had to.

Nothing was happening though. There was no change in her whatsoever. Dean stared at her seemingly lifeless form for five consecutive minutes, just waiting for her to heal. But nothing. He was unaware of the tear on his cheek until it fell on Elita's hand.

The doors to her hospital room flung open and Bobby and Sam entered. Dean looked up at Bobby before forcing his eyes away painfully. The look on Bobby's face was…indescribable. The agony of seeing a girl he'd thought of as a daughter nearly dead…it was too much. Dean had only ever seen that look when Sam died, and when he sold his sole. Bobby only looked so torn when one of his kids was in danger.

Bobby touched Elita's hand oh-so softly, a strangled sob making its way out of his throat as tears threatened his sight. It made Dean cry harder for a second before rage settled in and he had to exit the room. Sam quickly followed behind him. Dean just festered, boiling mad. He wanted to shoot someone, kill something. He needed to get some of his anger out.

"Her father came." Dean mumbled unintelligibly as he paced the length of the small hallway. Sam's eyes bugged out as he started asking a million questions at once. "He didn't do a goddamned thing. He touched her. That's it."

That's when Dean's fist connected with the wall. Thankfully no one was near to see it or else they probably would've escorted him from the building. Sam didn't even flinch when Dean hit the wall again then cradled his bruised hand to his chest.

"We don't know that. He could've healed her it's just taking some time-" Sam began to say.

"Cas fixed me up after Lucifer went all Bully Beatdown on my face and it didn't take more than a second. Someone needs to fix her or I swear to God…" Dean couldn't finish his sentence. He choked on the words, a sob aching to release. Silence lingered between them for a few minutes.

"Where are Lisa and Ben?" Dean finally asked; needing some sort of distraction.

"On their way to Massachusetts. They're safe- Elita got the Leviathan. They needed a fresh start." Sam replied. Dean nodded, happy they could move on. But the bitterness was still there in his heart. They could move on but Elita couldn't…he couldn't.

"How is this fair?" Dean whispered dejectedly. "This is my fault…and she has to pay. My mistake, and she's gonna die."

Dean suddenly felt his back hit the wall behind him with brute force as Sam pinned him to the wall with his fists knotted in Dean's jacket. Dean looked up at his little brother, beyond confused. "Don't you say that!" Sam yelled in his face, tears in his eyes. "Don't you give up, Dean! We'll find a way to fix her. We'll find a way to make this better. This isn't your fault, Dean. I aught to beat the shit out of you for just thinking that." Sam smiled sadly. "Elita would've wanted me to."

ŠŠŠ

Dean, Sam and Bobby stayed the night in Elita's hospital room. They were sprawled about the room sleeping uncomfortably in chairs or, like Sam, on the floor. Doctors or nurses would come in periodically to check on her but nothing had changed. She was still unconscious and dying and no one knew how to help her. They'd never felt so hopeless. Dean wanted to yell and curse and hit something but instead he planted his butt in the chair next to her bed and didn't move all night or even the next morning. Sam woke early and decided to find drinkable coffee somewhere while Bobby snored in the corner.

The more Dean stared at Elita the stronger he swore she was starting to look better. The color was coming back to her skin, he swore it. But no one else saw it.

A nurse came in to check on her at six-thirty. That was the only time Dean moved away from her side but even then, he just scooted back a few inches so the nurse could check Elita's vitals. Dean watched her, swearing to himself that Elita really did look better. Or at least, more like herself again.

The nurse went about the regular procedure but paused for a second. She checked Elita's heart rate twice before peeking at Dean out of the corner of her eye. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately; shooting up in his chair.

She paused again. "Umm…" she stuttered then turned towards the door. "I'm going to get the doctor." And before Dean could ask any more questions she slithered out of the door quickly. Dean reached his hand out to hold Elita's without taking his eyes off the door. He counted the seconds as he waited for the nurse and doctor to return. When the door swung open, Dean jumped a little.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked. He had three cups of coffee in his hands but he sat them on a table instead of passing them around. The look on Dean's face was too alarming. Just as Sam put the third cup of coffee on the end table, the door swung open again. Him and Dean watched in anticipation as the nurse and doctor entered the room and walked over to Elita.

Dean stepped back again, dropping Elita's hand, to let them through. Just like the nurse, the doctor checked her heart rate, paused, checked it again, and then looked up at the boys. He checked a third time while Dean asked what was wrong.

"…Her pulse is getting stronger…" the doctor mumbled, almost to himself as he checked yet another time. "…A lot stronger…"

"That's a good thing though, right?" Sam asked hopefully; taking a step closer. He watched very carefully as the doctor worked to check all of Elita's vitals. After checking the machines, he pulled the blanket back from her chest and unbuttoned the top of her hospital gown.

"When was her dressings changed last?" he asked the nurse- referring to the bandages wrapping her chest to keep her from bleeding out and also keeping her ribcage together. The nurse checked her papers before telling him the last time a nurse had changed her dressings was last night. "…should be soaked through…" the doctor mumbled, again, seemingly to himself.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked; both him and Sam taking simultaneous steps forward. The doctor looked up at them. He was confused but he looked them straight in the eye.

"It means she's healing."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: OMG! I'd like to personally thank xxjempa1112luvSPNxx for the review! I was so freaking excited someone actually likes this story :p We're in the home stretch though- I'm thinking, two maybe three chapters left :) Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for the next chapter next monday :)<p> 


	12. The End

Author's Note: That's all folks =)

* * *

><p>Over the next two days, Elita's improvements were startling but she hadn't woken up yet. The color was back in her skin, hear heart was beating healthily, she was practically all better. But she was still unconscious and that worried everyone. The doctors couldn't explain her miraculous recovery so they didn't even try guessing when she'd wake up. The boys had faith she would though.<p>

"Any minute," Dean would say over and over again in his head. Hoping and praying Elita would make it was just about the only thing Dean had to rely on anymore. Of course, Sam and Bobby were there, but it wasn't the same anymore. He needed Elita back.

It was closing in on midnight but Dean was still awake (nobody knows how long since the accident. They've lost count.) Sam is down the hallway with a doctor trying to figure out what was going on- Sam hadn't let it go since she started recovering. He'd been running around like a chicken with his head cutoff trying to figure everything out. Whereas Bobby and Dean just kind of sat around waiting for her to wake up. Bobby had run out to the library per Sam's request so Dean watched over Elita.

He sat by her bed, his head next to her hands as he drifted in and out of sleep. It wasn't peaceful by any stretch of the imagination but he was exhausted. He felt something on his head and swatted at it, surprised by the touch of flesh. Dean's head whipped up so fast his neck cracked.

"Hey," he said softly, his voice cracking as he looked up at Elita. She grumbled, turning her head a little to look at him. Her eyelids were heavy and her throat was sore but she was awake and that's all that mattered.

"Where's Sam? Is he okay?" Elita chocked out, her voice thick and gravely. Dean smiled. Leave it to Elita to be completely unconcerned about herself. That why Dean loved Elita so much. Because she was selfless and compassionate. And because she cared about Sam _almost_ as much as Dean did.

"He's fine. Thanks to you. Lita, if you hadn't done what you did…I would've lost you both. I can't thank you enough." Dean replied, holding her hand. She smiled down at him and gripped his hand a little tighter.

"Just doin' my job." she replied lackadaisically then got serious. "Where's Ben and Lisa?"

"They're somewhere in Massachusetts I think. Thanks to you, this whole nightmare is over. They're headed back to normal life. Hopefully this time it'll last." Dean replied. They got quiet for a minute. Elita couldn't figure out how she'd servived and Dean was just wondering what would cause her to act so irrationally. "What were you thinking?" Dean asked first.

Elita sighed; shifting uncomfortably on the hospital bed. She couldn't get comfortable no matter what she did. It wasn't just because of the pain; it also had a lot to do with the itchy sheets and the stiff nightgown. She'd just woke up and Elita was already counting down the seconds until someone released her. "I don't know, Dean." she said quietly. "I can't explain it. I needed it to end, Dean. I needed all of this to end. I needed you and Sammy safe; and I needed this weight to be off our shoulders. I didn't care what happened it just needed to be over."

"You could've died, Lita." Dean reprimanded but he didn't sound mad; just curious.

"I didn't care and honestly I didn't even expect to live…hell I didn't _want_ to. I just needed…I just needed it to end. I don't know how else to say it." Elita heaved a sigh, her chest clenching uncomfortably. "And then Sam showed up…"

"You could've left him there…I would have killed you myself. But to a normal person, leaving him would be the best option." Dean said. Of course he would've done anything to save Sam but he didn't expect that kind of dedication from other people.

"I couldn't. Not Sammy. I swear to you, Dean, when I looked at him lying there bloody and beaten…he wasn't a giant anymore. He was just little 14 year old Sammy Winchester with shaggy hair and dimples. I couldn't let him go. I couldn't let you both down like that." Elita said slowly. She looked him in the eye, knowing how insane she must've sounded but not entirely caring.

Dean was quiet for a really long time. Then finally he smiled genuinely for what felt like the first time in years. "I love you," he whispered and leaned over to kiss her. Elita was stunned. He'd never said that to her and she never dared say it first.

She started to smile. "I know," she said with a wink, bringing her lips to his.

ŠŠŠ

"Does it hurt?" Sam asked as he wheeled Elita down the hospital hallway in a wheel chair. She'd been awake and stable for nearly five days and she was finally going home. The hospital wanted to keep her longer and figure out what aided in her miraculous recovery but Elita refused. They never talked about it, but Elita had the feeling something supernatural was involved in her recovery. She honestly didn't even want to know.

"If by _it_ you mean my entire body, than yes." Elita replied with a grunt. Her chest ached constantly and she experienced severe pain with ever deep breath she took and every sudden move she made. Everything she did was very precise and thought out in advanced. If she didn't watch herself carefully, she could cause herself some serious pain. It was like knives in her chest every time she raised her arms too high or turned a little too far to the side.

"You really should be staying…" the doctor was saying but no one was listening. Elita and the boys were in agreement that she should get the hell out of there. The doctor kept talking about coming back in frequently and check-ups and whatnot but Elita wasn't going to come back. Never. Ever. Ever.

Once outside, Sam helped Elita into the backseat of the Impala and surprised her by squirming in beside her. She slouched over in the leather seat, a hand on her abdomen as she tried to catch her breath. Dean reved the engine to life, tossing a bottle of pills at her. She caught them with a grunt, reading the label. "I don't want to know how you got this." she said as she cracked the bottle of morphine and popped the meds in her mouth. Dean smiled at her through the rearview mirror.

"Hey, thanks by the way." Sam whispered in Elita's ear as her head lulled against his shoulder a few minutes into the drive. The morphine setting in and the energy draining away, Elita's eyes started to droop as the three of them settled in for the drive back to Bobby's.

"Don't mention it, Punk." she said with a smile, cuddling into his broad shoulder as unconsciousness tried to take over her. "Just so you're aware, Sammy, I would do it over again. Given the chance to save myself or you…it'll always be you. You're worth it, Punk." she continued without looking up at him. But she couldn't hear his heart beat a bit faster in his chest. It took him a minute to process that before he wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her to his chest.

"She's kind of like the sister you never wanted, huh, Sammy?" Dean teased from the front seat, looking back at them with a smile. Sam just smiled, holding her tightly.

"Yeah…she's special."


End file.
